It was a daily briefing on the infinite optimism of polymath Gottfried Leibniz

Effects of climate change on deaths and productivity: a reappraisal of Masselot’s analysis of four future climate change scenarios

For their analysis, Masselot and his colleagues explored four future scenarios in which global temperatures increase by 1.5 °C, 2 °C, 3 °C and 4 °C. They also considered three scenarios for how countries might improve their adaptation strategies, potentially reducing the risk of heat-related deaths by 10%, 50% or 90%.

Pierre Masselot, the co-author of the study said that a massive adaptation would be required in order to compensate for the increase in temperature. At the moment, he says, “it’s difficult to see how that level of adaptation could be reached”.

Without action on climate change, millions of people are going to die in Europe from Extreme heat. Plus, the tireless polymath who “couldn’t stop dreaming up ways to make the world better”.

Climate Change, Climate Limbo, and the Infinite Optimism of Polymath Gottfried Leibniz

A person has died of the H5N1 avian flu strain in North America. There are emerging data that indicates that the variant of the virus can cause serious disease if it is passed to people from birds. The number of human infections is too small to conclude whether one variant is more dangerous than the other. Daniel Goldhill says that if the virus has adapted to cows it is also better adapted to human cells. “This is a first stepping stone for the virus — and it has increased the risk level of a virus jumping to humans.”

The cave called Toca do Tatu is in southern Brazil and could have been created by generations of giant ground sloths. The ice-age megafauna went extinct more than 10,000 years ago. Large scratches on the walls and ceiling suggest, to some scientists, that the cave is the largest known example of an ‘ichnofossil’: a track, tunnel or other mark left by ancient organisms.

Farmers in Switzerland took the government to court in order to force it to act on climate change before their farms are no longer viable. Climate experts say that lawsuits from farmers may have more sway with governments than the previous cases from social activist groups because agriculture is a part of Swiss politics. “A win would change the legal landscape for other cases in Europe, and potentially beyond,” the trio write. “The world cannot afford to leave farmers in climate limbo, just as farmers cannot afford to turn their backs to the changing climate.”

Source: Daily briefing: The infinite optimism of polymath Gottfried Leibniz

Gottfried Leibniz: Towards a theory of eta and cacio e pepe (the New York Times)

Gottfried Leibniz was a tireless polymath who covered ground in everything from philosophy to geology — as well as inventing versions of calculus and binary arithmetic. The best of all possible parodies, the best of all possible religious philosophy, was taken out of him. In a rollicking overview of Leibniz’s life of relentless intellectual exploration, historian of thought Anthony Gottlieb says that the bewigged boffin “couldn’t stop dreaming up ways to make the world better”.

Statistical physicist Ivan Di Terlizzi and an all-Italian team set out to ‘scientifically optimize’ the recipe for cacio e pepe. Adding just one ingredient to a traditional combination of pasta, black pepper and pecorino cheese is their solution. (The New York Times | 3 min read)