Trump's disinhibition has gotten markedly worse in the last couple of weeks. In my latest @washingtonsun column, I've compiled his (and his administration's) pre-midterm crescendo of crazy, from Ukraine to Jon Husted's ass. washingtonsun.com/perspectiv…

Two wrongs make a right when it comes to incivility Retaliatory incivility (i.e., incivility in response to someone else's incivility) is seen as less morally condemnable than initial incivility. This may create a vicious circle of conflict, as each side responds with greater incivility. sciencedirect.com/science/ar…

Patient I saw today has been my patient for almost 8 years. They were not well then: oxygen needed and potential lung transplant. So, we got to work on helping them. Today, they saw me after a trip through Europe, OFF of oxygen. This was a trip they had put off for years due to her lungs 🥹 So proud. An honor to be someone’s doctor and invest in them 💪

Is vaping the best way to quit smoking? My new piece on a provocative question that people often yell about online. medium.com/@gidmk/is-vaping-…

They fought their entire careers To ensure Mutually Assured Political destruction Then one said, "Let's have coffee!" Find out what happened.

Available now: LIVE LIKE A CITIZEN by Eric Liu. 📖 How do we find hope when civic life feels so divided? @ericpliu offers eight practices for moving beyond cynicism, rebuilding faith in democracy, and turning that belief into everyday action. The reviews speak for themselves: @YoYo_Ma, @dsallentess, @DavidBrooks224, and more share what makes LIVE LIKE A CITIZEN a book for this moment.

Misperceptions strike again: Cannabis was used as a quit method for: - 9% of people who tried to quit smoking - 16.3% of people who tried to quit vaping (3rd-most common method) pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/4287…

Me, to my 82-yr-old dad: "Do you mind if I play music while I clean?" My dad: "No, not at all." Me: "Even if it's Madonna?" My dad: "Even if it's Madonna." [Long pause] Me: "I think you secretly like Madonna." [Long pause] My dad: "Yes. That is true. I think I do like Madonna."

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Politically polarized teams produce better work on Wikipedia Research from the University of Chicago of more than 200,000 Wikipedia pages finds that collaborations bridging the political spectrum produce higher-quality work than articles edited by moderate or one-sided teams. Wikipedia pages covering politics, social issues and science written by editors with a broader range of political affiliation rank better on Wikipedia’s own quality scale, because of diverse perspectives, increased debate and appeals to community guidelines Balanced ideological diversity produce higher quality articles, as long as there are clear normative guidelines. news.uchicago.edu/story/poli…

Social media isn't a mirror of society. It's creating a funhouse mirror that distorts public opinion. I have a new article in Issues in Science and Technology, explaining how social media amplifies extreme voices, fuels moral outrage, and makes us think other people are far more hostile and polarized than they really are. Consider a few striking findings: -0.1% of accounts spread 80% of the misinformation -Just 3% of active accounts produce 33% of toxic content -Outgroup animosity increases the odds of a post being shared by 67% People with the most extreme opinions are also the most likely to weigh in online, creating a distorted picture of public opinion. This small but vocal minority dominates online conversations while more moderate voices remain silent. This creates the illusion that society is far more divided than it really is. But there's good news. Our research finds that most Americans actually agree about what they want from social media: less hatred and misinformation, more accurate and uplifting content, and greater control over their algorithms. The challenge isn't simply to change people's minds. It's to build platforms that better reflect what people actually believe. This is what people want. Read my new article, "Beware the Funhouse Mirror" here: issues.org/social-media-van-…