RWL #182 - happy birthday, America!
Greetings from the University of New Hampshire - Forward Operating Base Last Homely House (FOB LHH)! Life is always better when I can get out on the water. I’ve been so busy lately I haven’t made much time for it. But I got out yesterday and even went exploring a new river. I paddled the Squamscott which is a relatively short river out into Great Bay. We had a light fog, which always makes things a little ghostly. Great Bay is an inland bay, so all of the rivers that feed it are tidal, including the Squamscott. So you can paddle at the same time three days in a row and you will have a different experience each time. It’s great. I hope you all are finding time to get outside and enjoy the summer a little.
It’s America’s 244th birthday tomorrow. The Declaration is such an amazing document when you place it in its time. I think of the Declaration and the Constitution like an operating system. The longer it runs, the better it gets. The spiral of freedom just keeps winding out and becoming more inclusive. We’ve still got work to do, but considering the alternative for the rest of human history was largely authoritarian rule, it’s pretty darn beautiful.
Stay well and stay safe.
Read
What: Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Declaration of Independence
https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript
Why: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”
We in the USA, and in most of the West, take this for granted. You don’t need to look far to see authoritarian governments that do not hold these truths to be self-evident, or even that they are truths. Authoritarianism was (and still is) the default form of government for most of human history. We now see it being put on steroids with surveillance technology in a way that will make it ever more important for us to stand watch against incursions - both internally and externally - especially as these governments seek to export their authoritarian principles along with the technology that will enable greater state repression.
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What: Fast Company, This $2,500 ventilator is a master class in designing for the COVID-19 era
Why: Ventilator shortages continue to be an issue in the US as well as in developing nations. Massachusetts General Hospital, right down the street from here (well, an hour down the highway, but it’s like a street, just really big), ran a contest to develop a rapidly manufactured ventilator. The winning team was from Smith College, and developed a ventilator that cost $2500 to manufacture - using mostly off-the-shelf or 3D printed parts: “The SmithVent costs a tenth of the price of a normal ventilator, and the plans are being distributed open source for anyone to use or refine.”
I love the idea of combining 3D printing and open source. I’ve never done any 3D printing, but I do produce a lot of products under creative commons, so it’s in the same family of sharing. Technology can be used for good or evil, and this comes solidly down on the white hat side.
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Watch
What: CNBC, Dark Kitchens - Where does your food delivery really come from?
Why: “Dark kitchens” sounds like something horrible out of Game of Thrones, but it basically refers to commercial kitchen space being rented by restaurants, primarily to feed the delivery market. With COVID-19 shutting down most traditional restaurants, demand for higher-end food delivery has exploded. This is a fun tour through the concept. The model seems to be a landlord provides commercial kitchen space on a short term rental, and existing restaurants can expand production using these kitchens or, more interestingly, would-be restaurateurs are able to create new brands without having to commit large quantities of capital to building out a physical space. The kitchen becomes a platform. One of the interesting factors that only gets briefly mentioned in this piece, but you get more of it in this New Yorker article is the role of food delivery apps like Uber Eats and Postmates. These apps collect data about the demand for food in particular geographies and can provide that data to restaurateurs. Using the data, a restaurateur can decide, “Oh - there is a demand for Italian food” or “Oh - there is a demand for steak sandwiches” or sushi or whatever - and then rent a kitchen space to make the food which is then sold through a delivery app. It’s a fascinating trend.
I think the take away for healthcare leaders is a few things. First, hospitals have always been platforms for physicians. How are the platforms in the healthcare industry evolving? Second, there is a clear parallel between the explosion of take out (and movement away from in-restaurant dining) and telemedicine. Are we rethinking how we deliver healthcare? We’re incredibly bogged down in regulations that are meant to provide safety and ensure quality, but they also lock in old methods and make adaptation to changes in the market difficult. Third, is there a parallel to the UberEats/Postmates data gathering? Maybe.
I think there is a value in looking across similar industries to find lessons that can be applied in our own industry. This is one worth thinking about.
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What: TEDMed, The courage to live with radical uncertainty
Why: Oncologist and cancer survivor, Shekinah Elmore talks about her own experience with cancer. Her interpretation of what the worst thing that can happen is that cancer will rob the patient of opportunity to do. Her perspective strikes me as quite Stoic. If we focus on the worst that can happen, we might never do. A nice example of patient centered care.
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Listen
What: Radiolab, The Golden Rule
https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab/segments/golden-rule
Why: OK, I use this video of the game show, Golden Balls, to teach the Prisoner’s Dilemma in intro micro. Golden Balls is entirely premised on the Prisoner’s Dilemma (a one-shot, simultaneous, competitive game) and cheap talk. I usually show the first half of the video, up to the point of where the contestants get to talk to each other. I show why the dominant solution is steal/steal, and then we watch the rest of the video. I did not know until recently that Radiolab had found the two contestants to talk about their unique solution. Check out the video. If it makes your jaw drop, then listen to the podcast. Your jaw will drop even more.
For those of you who teach econ, if you aren’t using this video, you will after you see this!
Thanks for reading and see you next week! If you come across any interesting stories, won't you send them my way? I'd love to hear what you think of these suggestions, and I'd love to get suggestions from you. Feel free to drop me a line at mark.bonica@unh.edu , or you can tweet to me at @mbonica .
Also, if you find these links interesting, won’t you tell a friend? They can subscribe here: https://tinyletter.com/markbonica
See you next Friday!
Mark
Mark J. Bonica, Ph.D., MBA, MS
Assistant Professor
Department of Health Management and Policy
University of New Hampshire
(603) 862-0598
mark.bonica@unh.edu
Health Leader Forge Podcast: http://healthleaderforge.org
'It is the small things, everyday deeds of ordinary folk, that keep the darkness at bay. Simple acts of kindness and love.' - Gandalf (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey)