for John, the hero
I just started school and read something today that I thought was fun
even though it was assigned reading, and for - of all things -
Statistics. Go figure. (Tufte's Visual Explanations, in the interest of proper citing).
There was a cholera outbreak in London in the 1850s. Within days of the outbreak, a guy named John Snow, who happened also to be Queen Victoria's anaesthesiologist, started plotting all this data to try to figure out the cause. He drew maps and noted the relative locations of people infected and the nearest water pumps. Plotted time of death vs. when people were known to go pump water, or drink it, etc. Turns out there was this one pump - the "Broad Street pump" - that was the root cause of the outbreak. By the time he discovered the infected pump, the epidemic was pretty well contained. But still, he is heralded for his scientific approach to analyzing data, and also for his theory - later proven correct - that the bacteria was transmitted either by human touch (i.e., on the handle of the water pump), or the water itself, and most certainly not by air.
He did come across a little bit of information that was puzzling to him. There was one place within the same 2-3 block radius where lots of people were infected, that somehow was spared. He pinpointed the location on his map and went to check it out. Turns out it was a brewery. He talked to the owner there and found out that all the workers were allowed a bit of ale on the house every day. The owner said that the guys typically wouldn't ever go out for water at the Broad Street pump, 'cause of course they quenched their thirst in-house.
"Saved by the beer!"
Now, if George RR Martin will ever finish writing, hopefully we will all find out that John Snow is indeed the hero of that tale, as well.
Oh, and apparently there is still a pub in London, in the very same spot, that is appropriately named "The John Snow Pub."
There was a cholera outbreak in London in the 1850s. Within days of the outbreak, a guy named John Snow, who happened also to be Queen Victoria's anaesthesiologist, started plotting all this data to try to figure out the cause. He drew maps and noted the relative locations of people infected and the nearest water pumps. Plotted time of death vs. when people were known to go pump water, or drink it, etc. Turns out there was this one pump - the "Broad Street pump" - that was the root cause of the outbreak. By the time he discovered the infected pump, the epidemic was pretty well contained. But still, he is heralded for his scientific approach to analyzing data, and also for his theory - later proven correct - that the bacteria was transmitted either by human touch (i.e., on the handle of the water pump), or the water itself, and most certainly not by air.
He did come across a little bit of information that was puzzling to him. There was one place within the same 2-3 block radius where lots of people were infected, that somehow was spared. He pinpointed the location on his map and went to check it out. Turns out it was a brewery. He talked to the owner there and found out that all the workers were allowed a bit of ale on the house every day. The owner said that the guys typically wouldn't ever go out for water at the Broad Street pump, 'cause of course they quenched their thirst in-house.
"Saved by the beer!"
Now, if George RR Martin will ever finish writing, hopefully we will all find out that John Snow is indeed the hero of that tale, as well.
Oh, and apparently there is still a pub in London, in the very same spot, that is appropriately named "The John Snow Pub."