
Next up was this piece, about the evolution of the apostrophe, sent by a friend who shares my interest in matters orthographic and grammatical.
Meanwhile, just as I embark on another autism writing project, a crop of related news emerges. First, the autism incidence and geography study. Next was the Lancet retraction. I don't have much to say about that one except that it's about a decade too late. Finally, check out this LA Times piece, forwarded by some friends who share my anxiety about misinformation peddlers: "Industrial chemical OSR#1 used as autism treatment". Wait. It gets better:
An industrial chemical developed to help separate heavy metals from polluted soil and mining drainage is being sold as a dietary supplement by a luminary in the world of alternative autism treatments.
I would laugh if it wasn't so scary. Yet this week has been so filled with curious stuff that I haven't had much time to feel too downtrodden about zealots or whacktivists. Manipulating salience in the tax code, grizzlies in British Columbia, the Nevada Test Site, Hitachi R&D labs in Tokyo, Iceland's economic collapse, Major League Baseball training secrets, Haiti earthquake responders using social networking tools... Am I hopelessly scatterbrained, or do I have the best job on the planet?