MEDFORD, OR—Saying the infant really ought to save her tears for the real shit that’s headed her way, sources familiar with crying newborn Sophia Whitfield confirmed Monday that she had no idea how much worse it was going to get. Observers told reporters the shrieking baby was clearly oblivious to the fact that any distress she experienced […]
The suffering of the mother
On Jenkins' Stabat Mater and suffering via mother
Do newborn boys really tend to prefer a ‘mechanical object’ to a human face? Failure to assess the confounding effect of an exceptionally high caesarean section rate
We review a twenty year old paper on sex differences in human neonatal social perception, and identify a serious issue: a failure to assess whether the results were distorted by an exceptionally high Caesarean Section rate. This is in addition to a number of other methodological weaknesses, which together mean that there is too much ‘noise’ in the data to draw clear conclusions from the results. The paper’s stark conclusion to have ‘demonstrated’ biological sex differences is unsubstantiated and misleading, and it should no longer be considered a reliable reference point.
‘We need to reclaim childhood’: UK ministers urged to restore right to play
A steady erosion of outdoor playtime is impairing the development of infants, say experts
You’ll do anything for your baby. The algorithm knows how to exploit that.
In the mega-consumption era of parenthood, the internet tells new moms that products can solve the hardest parts of having a newborn. All they have to do is add to cart.
These parents didn’t know why their daughter was sick. They turned to AI to help solve the mystery. - The Boston Globe
First they sequenced the entire genomes of all four members of their family. Then they got down to work.
Our Babies Aren’t 'Bad'—Understanding Autism in Black Children
Too many Black children—especially our Black boys—are being labeled as “bad." Let's get understanding of autism in Black children.
Opinion | To Make the World Better, Think Small (Published 2016)
It is easy to become numb to suffering. Feeling empathy for individual victims can overcome the numbness.
Two Words I'll Never Say To My Daughter Again
Although the words "hurry up" did little if nothing to increase my child's speed, I said them anyway. Maybe even more than the words, "I love you." The truth hurts, but the truth heals... and brings me closer to the parent I want to be.
Daughter's Keeper — Oakland Public Library
Daughter's Keeper — Waldman, Ayelet — When Olivia falls victim to the maelstrom surrounding the war on drugs, she and her self-sufficient mother, Elaine, find themselves embroiled in a courtroom drama. 50,000 first printing.
The Shape of the Curve: Morbid Symptoms or Monsters?
“The crisis consists precisely in the fact that the old is dying and the new cannot be born; in this interregnum a great variety of morbid symptoms appear.” -Gramsci 1 Everyone quotes Gramsci now. …
New safe sleep recommendations can help pediatricians guide families
The AAP continues to emphasize placing infants on their backs in an uncluttered crib.
Doctor forced to apologise after AI makes 'scary' error about illegal drugs
Artificial Intelligence is listening to many people's medical appointments, but it is not always hearing things correctly.
Many are appropriately outraged by Altman’s comments here implying that raising a human child is akin to “training” an AI model. This is part of a broader pattern where AI industry leaders use language that collapses the boundary between human and machine. 🧵/
X2Y
SAM ALTMAN: “People talk about how much energy it takes to train an AI model … But it also takes a lot of energy to train a human. It takes like 20 years of life and all of the food you eat during that time before you get smart.”
