Steve Michaels 🔍
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stevemichaels.bsky.social
Steve Michaels 🔍
@stevemichaels.bsky.social
25 followers 160 following 0 posts
Aspiring EA and rationalist working in pharma.

Abstaining from snark and outrage. #GoKind
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Reposted by Steve Michaels 🔍
scientificdiscovery.dev
Cardiovascular disease mortality has declined in many countries over the past decades.

For example, US cardiovascular disease death rates have declined 4x since 1950.
Line charts showing decline in cardiovascular disease death rate since 1950 in the US, France, UK and Italy.
January 23, 2025 at 11:03 AM
Reposted by Steve Michaels 🔍
airmovingdevice.bsky.social
Thread: I found data fraud in multiple clinical trials for generic drugs in China.
I've seen limited coverage outside China of the recent controversy over 集采 — centralized procurement of drugs, especially generics. It is a hugely important issue close to my heart.
January 23, 2025 at 7:57 AM
Reposted by Steve Michaels 🔍
vitalik.ca
On the risks of politician coins:
The risk of politician coins comes from the fact that they are such a perfect bribery vehicle. If a politician issues a coin, you do not even need to send *them* any coins to give them money. Instead, you just buy and hold the coin, and this increases the value of their holdings passively. Furthermore, there is deniability: holding the coin is, in terms of financial effect, a linear combination of donating to the issuer and gambling. Hence you can have the intention of doing the former but when challenged claim that you are doing the latter. You can even hold the coin privately, and show that you are holding it to whoever you need to show; you do not need any zero knowledge proofs, you just send a test transaction. This is all risky to democracy, for reasons very similar to what I wrote in https://vitalik.eth.limo/general/2021/08/16/voting3.html , https://vitalik.eth.limo/general/2020/09/11/coordination.html and elsewhere. TLDR: the economic arguments for why markets are so great for "regular" goods and services do not extend to "markets for political influence". I recommend politicians do not go down this path.
January 24, 2025 at 1:50 AM
Reposted by Steve Michaels 🔍
nateinthewild.com
Because I think we could all use a little good news right now
January 24, 2025 at 3:34 PM
Reposted by Steve Michaels 🔍
gracekind.net
It looks like the “David Mayer” phenomenon may be due to GDPR right to be forgotten requests, which would be… ironic to say the least
December 2, 2024 at 1:16 AM