THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

“For if you suffer your people to be ill-educated, and their manners to be corrupted from their infancy, and then punish them for those crimes to which their first education disposed them, what else is to be concluded from this, but that you first make thieves and then punish them.”

— Thomas More

BIRTHDAYS:

1478 Thomas More, English lawyer, statesman, philosopher, Renaissance humanist, and author. He is best known for his 1516 book Utopia, which coined the term for an ideal society and inspired the genre of utopian literature.

1804 John Deere, American blacksmith and manufacturer who is remembered for his impact on the agricultural industry. His invention of a steel plow that could efficiently cut through the sticky mid-western soil transformed farming practices, not just in America, but worldwide.

1812 Charles Dickens, one of the most popular authors of the Victorian era, and many of his characters are still known today: Oliver Twist, Ebenezer Scrooge, David Copperfield, and more.

1867 Laura Ingalls Wilder, American author, teacher, and journalist, best known for her beloved children’s book series, the Little House books. These semi-autobiographical stories vividly depict pioneer life on the American frontier during the late 19th century, drawing directly from her own childhood experiences as part of a settler family that moved across the Midwest.

1870 Alfred Adler, Austrian medical doctor, psychotherapist, and founder of the school of individual psychology. His emphasis on the importance of feelings of belonging, relationships within the family, and birth order set him apart from Freud and others in their common circle.

1897 Max Newman, British mathematician and codebreaker. His work in World War II led to the construction of Colossus, the world’s first operational, programmable electronic computer…

MISCELLANEOUS:

I REMEMBER WHEN THEY DID THIS: MY HANDS ARE STILL SWEATING. On this day in space: Feb. 7, 1984: The world’s 1st untethered spacewalk

“LIVE LONG AND PROSPER”. Nimoy-Knight Foundation honors ‘Girl Spock’ and her mission to become the 1st openly autistic woman in space

INTERESTING. Experimental bioadhesive patch sticks to wet brain tissue and wipes out most glioblastoma cells

MAYBE THEY COULD DO THIS ON AIRPLANES? Simple Airflow Shift Cuts Indoor Infection Risk by Up to 90%

REMINDER:

In the future, before locking things down again (including free speech and the freedom to assemble), the authorities should become acquainted with the following:

Nuremberg Code

Disease Mitigation Measures in the Control of Pandemic Influenza

Great Barrington declaration