All posts by admin

Genetics

No eternal life

Seven years ago we published a 15% heritability of life span from data in South Tyrol. The heritability of longevity increased from 0.20 to 0.35 as the longevity threshold increased.

A new study now finds that we have been exaggerating

true heritability of human longevity for birth cohorts across the 1800s and early 1900s was well below 10%, and that it has been generally overestimated due to the effect of assortative mating. … Spouse life spans correlate as much or more than those of genetic relatives, raising the possibility that correlated environments and/or assortative mating have confounded those estimates.

I think there is a misunderstanding of assortative mating (AM). AM is a form of sexual selection in which individuals with similar phenotypes mate with one another more frequently than would be expected under chance conditions. BUT the phenotype longevity is not known to anyone at mating. Instead there seems to be a simple “environmental” interaction: We know that elderly couples frequently die together, also known as broken hearts phenomenon.

Adjusting any regression model for any AM will therefore seriously reduces the heritability of longevity, which is exactly what the authors describe in their new paper.

Spousal correlation is expected on two grounds: shared-household environment during adulthood and/or assortative mating. The two can be distinguished by definition: the effects of shared-household environment are nontransferable through inheritance, whereas the factors correlated by assortative mating are transferable, allowing them to also generate correlations with family members of the spouse

This is not very convincing as A) shared-household environment can be transmitted by epigenetic factors and B) it is a myth there is any AM for lifespan.

 

CC-BY-NC Science Surf , accessed 24.03.2026
Allergy, Vitamins

Did we trade rickets with allergy?

I have written on that before but find it striking again when reading another historical perspective.

The first insight into the possible relationship between the industrialization of Northern Europe and rickets was made by Sniadecki in 1822 when he concluded that children who lived in the inner city of Warsaw had a high incidence of rickets because of their lack of sun exposure. This was based on his clinical observations that children living in rural areas outside of Warsaw did not suffer from rickets while children born and raised in Warsaw were plagued with the disease.

Now we are supplementing vitamin D to nearly all inner city children who have a high allergy prevalence but not so much in rural areas where we see less allergy – everywhere, not only in Warsaw.

Did we trade rickets with allergy?

 

CC-BY-NC Science Surf , accessed 24.03.2026
Vitamins

I can see you with my eyes closed

Today I cam across extraocular photoreceptors which make up a fascinating story, explained by Wikipedia

A third class of mammalian photoreceptor cell was discovered during the 1990s: the photosensitive ganglion cells. These cells do not contribute to sight directly, but are thought to support circadian rhythms and pupillary reflex.

A paper (“seeing without eyes”) at theconversation.com has the details

“extraocular photoreceptors” are usually found in the central nervous system or in the skin, but also frequently in internal organs. … All the visual cells identified in animals detect light using a single family of proteins, called the opsins. These proteins grab a light-sensitive molecule – derived from vitamin A – that changes its structure when exposed to light. The opsin in turn changes its own shape and turns on signaling pathways in photoreceptor cells … The skin is where we see most other light receptors, particularly in active color-changing cells or skin organs called chromatophores.

I tried but could not find any link between chromatophores, vitamin D production and skin tanning in humans although such a link would make a lot of sense. While changing the search strategy to opsin expression in the skin, I found something interesting

Here we show that four opsins—OPN1‐SW, OPN2, OPN3 and OPN5—are expressed in the two major human epidermal cell types, melanocytes and keratinocytes, and the mRNA expression profile of these opsins does not change in response to physiological UVR doses. … Notably, OPN2 and OPN3 mRNA were significantly more abundant than other opsins and encoded full‐length proteins. Our results demonstrate that opsins are expressed in epidermal skin cells and suggest that they might initiate light–induced signaling pathways, possibly contributing to UVR phototransduction.

It seems that the effect is mainly  by OPN5

Human OPN5 also had an absorption maximum at 380 nm with spectral properties similar to mouse OPN5, revealing that OPN5 is the first and hitherto unknown human opsin with peak sensitivity in the UV region. OPN5 was capable of activating heterotrimeric G protein Gi in a UV-dependent manner.

which came into life by just a single mutation. As far as I understand it, UVR exposure is not leading to any opsin expression. Maybe it is just a very low threshold trigger for TYR et al ?

We investigated the effects of UV on human skin of various races before and at different times after a single 1 minimal erythemal dose UV exposure. … The expression of melanocyte-specific proteins (including TYR (tyrosinase), TYRP1 (tyrosinase-related protein 1), DCT (tyrosinase-related protein 2), MART1 (melanoma antigens recognized by T-cells) gp100 (Pmel17/silver), and MITF (micropthalmia transcription factor)) increased from 0 to 7 d after UV exposure, but the melanin content of the skin increased only slightly. The most significant change, however, was a change in the distribution of melanin from the lower layer upwards to the middle layer of the skin

A recent review in Current Biology pointed out that vitamin A-based chromophores were initially used in harvesting light energy, but have then become the most widely used light sensor.

Unfortunately many research questions have not been answered yet. We can only speculate about the function of extraocular photoreceptors in humans. In the mammalian retina it is probably part of a self-defense mechanism of the eye to avoid UVR induced destruction. There could be similar functions in the human skin including circadian entrainment, DNA protection and repair. Vitamin D production in the skin after UVR exposure is an independent process as ergosterol itself can efficiently absorb UVB radiation.

Finally here is a speculation about the pathophysiology: Extraocular photoreceptors could be key structures in photophobia, phototoxic and photo allergic reactions.

 

CC-BY-NC Science Surf , accessed 24.03.2026
Philosophy, Video

Fearless – the story of Alex Honnold

The NYT has a disturbing story about Alex Honnold. What if he falls?

Alex Honnold, 33, is the world’s foremost free soloist. To “free solo” means to climb without ropes or any safety gear. Mr. Honnold began climbing without ropes as a teenager. As he got better at climbing on his own, his aspirations and goals grew bigger. For years, he had his eye on free soloing the 3,000-foot peak of Yosemite’s El Capitan. In 2017, he decided to go for it, a superhuman accomplishment that makes up the arc of our new feature film, “Free Solo.”

How free solo looks like

and Honnold’s comments

What is the difference between the average attention seeker and Honnold? nautil.us/issue/39/ has an answer showing results of a MRI scan

Purl scrolls down, down, through the Rorschach topography of Honnold’s brain, until, with the suddenness of a photo bomb, a pair of almond-shaped nodes materialize out of the morass. “He has one!” says Joseph, and Purl laughs. […]
Inside the tube, Honnold is looking at a series of about 200 images that flick past at the speed of channel surfing. The photographs are meant to disturb or excite. “At least in non-Alex people, these would evoke a strong response in the amygdala,” says Joseph. “I can’t bear to look at some of them, to be honest.” […] “Nowhere, at a decent threshold, was there amygdala activation”

After having watched  nowthe excellent National Geographic documentary, I do not believe so much in an anatomical curiosity. As his father was suffering to Asperger (according to his mother in the movie) I think the key is more with some unsual development combined with some excellent extrapyramidal reactions.

 

CC-BY-NC Science Surf , accessed 24.03.2026
Software

Citizen Science: Feinstaubmessung in Eigenregie

Das Stuttgarter Messprojekt ist ausführlich auf https://luftdaten.info/ erklärt, die Feinstaub Theorie auf ruhrmobil-e.de/.

Dahinter steckt der Laser Staub Sensor SDS011.

Nova Fitness SDS011 is a professional laser dust sensor. Fan mounted on sensor automatically sucks air. Sensor uses laser light scattering principle to measure value of dust particles suspended in the air. Sensor provides high precision and reliable readings of PM2.5 and PM10 values. Any change in environment can be observed almost instantaneously – short respond time below 10 seconds. Sensor in standard mode reports reading with 1 second interval.
Measured values: PM2.5, PM10
Range: 0 – 999.9 μg /m³
Resolution: 0.3μg/m3
Work environment:-10 ~ +50°C
Counting yield: 70%@0.3μm, 98%@0.5μm
Relative error: Maximum of ± 15%, ±10μg/m3 25°C, 50%RH
Cycle: 1004ms±1%
Service life: up to 8000 hours
according http://www.segor.de/dokumente/sds011_pm2.5_v1.3.pdf

Mit 70mA Stromverbrauch kann der Sensor damit auch mobil mit einer gängigen Powerbank (zB 3.500 mAh) 50 Stunden lang betrieben werden, am besten parallel zu einem alten Mobilfunkgerät, das nicht nur einen GPS Track aufzeichnet, sondern auch per Wifi gleich die Daten speichert. Mehr zur Evaluation des Sensors auf luftdaten.info bzw lubw.baden-wuerttemberg.de Zusammengefasst

* zufriedenstellende Korrelation an Tagen mit mittlerer Luftfeuchtigkeit (50 – 70 % r. F.) und Konzentrationen kleiner 20 μg/m3
* deutliche Abweichungen bei Schwankungen der klimatischen Bedingungen (Luftfeuchte, Luftdruck, Lufttemperatur)
* Sensoren aus unterschiedlichen Chargen weisen unterschiedliche Messergebnisse auf
* undefinierter Probengasstrom durch ungeregelten Lüfter führt zu starken Schwankungen des Messvolumens

 

CC-BY-NC Science Surf , accessed 24.03.2026
Software

Transdermal vitamin D patch

There is a new clinical trial D3ForMe that has a big benefit in my eyes: Avoiding the high local vitamin D in the gut Peyers’ Patch after oral supplementation.
Oral supplementation likely affects gut-specific homing leading activated T cells and antibody-secreting cells (ASCs) to both inflamed and non-inflamed regions of the gut. Also antigen recognition may be affected by inhibited DC maturation.
In an earlier vitamin D3 could be safely be delivered through the dermal route.

 

CC-BY-NC Science Surf , accessed 24.03.2026
Software

Wahlen mit alphabetischer Reihenfolge

Es gibt in Deutschland immer noch viele Kammer-, Sozial- und Vorstandswahlen, die aus angeblichen Fairnessgründen die Kandidatenliste alphabetisch reihen. Dabei wissen die meisten Organisationen nicht, wie sie sich damit vor allem selbst, aber auch den Kandidaten schaden.

Wahlen von Kandidatenlisten in alphabetischer Reihenfolge sind nämlich vor allem dann ein Problem, wenn A. die Wähler die Kandidaten nicht kennen, es B. einen großen Überhang von Kandidaten im Verhältnis zu den Gewählten gibt, C. die Reihung als Empfehlung missverstanden wird und D. die Wahlergebnisse relativ nahe beieinander liegen.

In der englischen Literatur ist das alles als “Ballot Order Effect” bekannt und kann auf vielen Blogs nachgelesen werden:
https://daily.jstor.org/ballot-position/
https://www.pulj.org/the-roundtable/avoiding-election-bias
https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-27426319
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/grenier-ballot-order-1.4608059
http://www.centerforpolitics.org/newslet_909cb.html

Der Effekt ist enorm, mit einem Buchstaben im vorderen Drittel liegt die Wahlchance bei ca 65%, im mittleren Drittel bei 25%, im letzten Drittel bei 10%. Am Ende der Liste zu stehen ist besonders schlecht, auch bekannt als “voter fatigue” (das ändert sich allerdings wenn die Liste sehr lange ist, dann wird man wieder etwas häufiger gewählt).

Das folgende Beispiel illustriert an einem praktischen Beispiel, wie eine Liste von 20 Kandidaten am besten unter den Wählern verteilt wird, um den “Ballot Order Effect” zu vermeiden.

l <- LETTERS[1:20]
l
[1] "A" "B" "C" "D" "E" "F" "G" "H" "I" "J" "K" "L" "M" "N" "O" "P" "Q" "R" "S" "T"

# Zuerst wird die alphabetische Reihenfolge aufgelöst
l <- sample(l)
l
[1] "Q" "C" "K" "F" "L" "M" "J" "T" "B" "I" "G" "H" "O" "P" "N" "S" "R" "A" "E" "D"

# Dann wird der jeweils letzte Namen nach vorne gerückt
r &lt;- NULL
for (v in l[20:1]) {
  x <- c( l[grep(v,l):20], l[1:(grep(v,l)-1)] )[1:20]
  r <- rbind (r,x)
}
r

# Jede Zeile gibt nun einen von 20 Wahlvorschlägen aus
  [,1] [,2] [,3] [,4] [,5] [,6] [,7] [,8] [,9] [,10] [,11] [,12] [,13] [,14] [,15] [,16] [,17] [,18] [,19] [,20]
x "D"  "Q"  "C"  "K"  "F"  "L"  "M"  "J"  "T"  "B"   "I"   "G"   "H"   "O"   "P"   "N"   "S"   "R"   "A"   "E"  
x "E"  "D"  "Q"  "C"  "K"  "F"  "L"  "M"  "J"  "T"   "B"   "I"   "G"   "H"   "O"   "P"   "N"   "S"   "R"   "A"  
x "A"  "E"  "D"  "Q"  "C"  "K"  "F"  "L"  "M"  "J"   "T"   "B"   "I"   "G"   "H"   "O"   "P"   "N"   "S"   "R"  
x "R"  "A"  "E"  "D"  "Q"  "C"  "K"  "F"  "L"  "M"   "J"   "T"   "B"   "I"   "G"   "H"   "O"   "P"   "N"   "S"  
x "S"  "R"  "A"  "E"  "D"  "Q"  "C"  "K"  "F"  "L"   "M"   "J"   "T"   "B"   "I"   "G"   "H"   "O"   "P"   "N"  
x "N"  "S"  "R"  "A"  "E"  "D"  "Q"  "C"  "K"  "F"   "L"   "M"   "J"   "T"   "B"   "I"   "G"   "H"   "O"   "P"  
x "P"  "N"  "S"  "R"  "A"  "E"  "D"  "Q"  "C"  "K"   "F"   "L"   "M"   "J"   "T"   "B"   "I"   "G"   "H"   "O"  
x "O"  "P"  "N"  "S"  "R"  "A"  "E"  "D"  "Q"  "C"   "K"   "F"   "L"   "M"   "J"   "T"   "B"   "I"   "G"   "H"  
x "H"  "O"  "P"  "N"  "S"  "R"  "A"  "E"  "D"  "Q"   "C"   "K"   "F"   "L"   "M"   "J"   "T"   "B"   "I"   "G"  
x "G"  "H"  "O"  "P"  "N"  "S"  "R"  "A"  "E"  "D"   "Q"   "C"   "K"   "F"   "L"   "M"   "J"   "T"   "B"   "I"  
x "I"  "G"  "H"  "O"  "P"  "N"  "S"  "R"  "A"  "E"   "D"   "Q"   "C"   "K"   "F"   "L"   "M"   "J"   "T"   "B"  
x "B"  "I"  "G"  "H"  "O"  "P"  "N"  "S"  "R"  "A"   "E"   "D"   "Q"   "C"   "K"   "F"   "L"   "M"   "J"   "T"  
x "T"  "B"  "I"  "G"  "H"  "O"  "P"  "N"  "S"  "R"   "A"   "E"   "D"   "Q"   "C"   "K"   "F"   "L"   "M"   "J"  
x "J"  "T"  "B"  "I"  "G"  "H"  "O"  "P"  "N"  "S"   "R"   "A"   "E"   "D"   "Q"   "C"   "K"   "F"   "L"   "M"  
x "M"  "J"  "T"  "B"  "I"  "G"  "H"  "O"  "P"  "N"   "S"   "R"   "A"   "E"   "D"   "Q"   "C"   "K"   "F"   "L"  
x "L"  "M"  "J"  "T"  "B"  "I"  "G"  "H"  "O"  "P"   "N"   "S"   "R"   "A"   "E"   "D"   "Q"   "C"   "K"   "F"  
x "F"  "L"  "M"  "J"  "T"  "B"  "I"  "G"  "H"  "O"   "P"   "N"   "S"   "R"   "A"   "E"   "D"   "Q"   "C"   "K"  
x "K"  "F"  "L"  "M"  "J"  "T"  "B"  "I"  "G"  "H"   "O"   "P"   "N"   "S"   "R"   "A"   "E"   "D"   "Q"   "C"  
x "C"  "K"  "F"  "L"  "M"  "J"  "T"  "B"  "I"  "G"   "H"   "O"   "P"   "N"   "S"   "R"   "A"   "E"   "D"   "Q"  
x "Q"  "C"  "K"  "F"  "L"  "M"  "J"  "T"  "B"  "I"   "G"   "H"   "O"   "P"   "N"   "S"   "R"   "A"   "E"   "D"    
# Diese 20 Wahlvorschläge werden nun in gleicher Stückzahl ausgedruckt und verteilt

# Bei online Wahlen lässt man einen Counter mitlaufen oder noch einfacher, man wirft
# alle 3 Sekunden den nächsten Vorschlag aus
r[ floor(as.numeric(format(Sys.time(), "%S"))/3), ]
[1] "J" "T" "B" "I" "G" "H" "O" "P" "N" "S" "R" "A" "E" "D" "Q" "C" "K" "F" "L" "M"

Es sollte also nicht all zu schwer sein, faire Wahlen durchzuführen.

 

CC-BY-NC Science Surf , accessed 24.03.2026
Philosophy, Software

Depressed Former Internet Optimist

technology review explains a new breed

all this has given rise to a new breed: the Depressed Former Internet Optimist (DFIO). Everything from public apologies by figures in the technology industry to informal chatter in conference hallways suggests it’s become very hard to find an internet Optimist in the old, classic vein. There are now only Optimists-in-retreat, Optimists-in-doubt, or Optimists-hedging-their-bets.

and continues

Many Optimists believed that the structure of the internet by itself—manifested in collaborative projects such as wikis or crowdfunding—would bend social outcomes in their favor. One response to the events of 2016 has been to revisit this assumption, claiming that while the basics might have been right, more work is needed to realize the original vision.

So may I add here an advertisement of Tim Berner-Lee’s Solid project operating Inrupt?

Imagine if all your current apps talked to each other, collaborating and conceiving ways to enrich and streamline your personal life and business objectives? That’s the kind of innovation, intelligence and creativity Solid apps will generate.

As we are now redefining content why not also getting paid by Brave when browsing? The not not evil Alphabet company has already announced some major changes.

 

CC-BY-NC Science Surf , accessed 24.03.2026
Philosophy

Women are wonderful

I am currently reading the cognitive bias literature to explain some phenomenon when discovering the “women are wonderful” effect.

The women-are-wonderful effect is the phenomenon found in psychological and sociological research which suggests that people associate more positive attributes with women compared to men. This bias reflects an emotional bias toward women as a general case. The phrase was coined by Alice Eagly and Antonio Mladinic in 1994 after finding that both male and female participants tend to assign positive traits to women, with female participants showing a far more pronounced bias.

Is that true also for general elections?

 

CC-BY-NC Science Surf , accessed 24.03.2026
Philosophy

Warum Denken traurig macht

Die FAZ hat die Details, hier ist die subjektive Zusammenfassung des Buches von Georg Steiner.

1. An den entscheidenden Fragen scheitern wir.
2. Das Denken ist zu ungeordnet,
3. zu repetitiv und zu selten innovativ
4. und zuwenig interesselos.
5. Das unbeachtete Denkens frustriert,
6. Hoffnungen werden enttäuscht.
7. Denken stösst immer wieder an Barrieren,
8. es trennt uns vom Nächsten,
9. geht in der Masse unter
10. und kann nicht wirklich seinen eigenen Tod denken.

 

CC-BY-NC Science Surf , accessed 24.03.2026
Philosophy

Retractions

Science Magazine reports a collaboration with Retraction Watch

A disturbingly large portion of papers—about 2%—contain “problematic” scientific images that experts readily identified as deliberately manipulated, according to a study of 20,000 papers published in mBio in 2016 by Elisabeth Bik of Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, and colleagues. What’s more, our analysis showed that most of the 12,000 journals recorded in Clarivate’s widely used Web of Science database of scientific articles have not reported a single retraction since 2003.

Most journals that I am reading, are never retracting a paper. So the whole Science statistics are flawed.

 

CC-BY-NC Science Surf , accessed 24.03.2026
Philosophy

A damning indictment of contemporary life

I would like to rewrite a text I have seen initially at fstoppers.com.

In his book Civilization, Niall Ferguson wrote a damning indictment of contemporary life. It’s a paradox, he suggests, “that an economic system designed to offer infinite choice to the individual has ended up homogenising humanity.” Never before in human history have so many people worked so hard to establish themselves as top scientists through exactly the same means: using near-identical technology, writing the same grant applications and producing as many mediocre papers as possible.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bo3BHvZFWpe/?taken-by=insta_repeat

 

CC-BY-NC Science Surf , accessed 24.03.2026
Allergy

A bad study is worse than no study

“Direct infant UV light exposure is associated with eczema and immune development”. Kristina Rueter, Anderson P. Jones, Aris Siafarikas, Ee-Mun Lim, Natasha Bear, Paul S. Noakes, Susan L. Prescott and Debra J. Palmer.
Article in press 2018 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaci.2018.08.037

These graphical abstracts look a bit strange like “science for dummies”. Isn’t there a major discrepancy of title and abstract?

IMHO this is a RCT of vitamin D supplementation of newborns and not a study of UV light exposure. Maybe the authors needed a selling point for a poorly designed study?

The (only) allergy outcome is shown in table. 6 of 90 in the placebo group and 9 of 90 in the vitamin group develop eczema. This translates into an OR of 1.6 (0.5-4.6, P = 0.4214). I read this as a non significant association of exposure and outcome which is quite understandable given

1. the low power of the study. My result of a post hoc power calculation is around 12%.
2. the ignorance of the main eczema risk factor ( filaggrin mutation!). Allocation by a “history of maternal allergic disease” does not allocate filaggrin mutations equally between groups.
3. the ignorance of maternal vitamin D levels. Restricting to maternal levels >50 nmol/L introduced as a bias toward supplemented fetuses.
4. the ignorance of vitamin D fed by formula. So clearly this is more a dose-finding study and not a RCT of vitamin D supplementation as also the controls are (heavily) exposed.
5. the ignorance of the most relevant outcome in this age group (which is sensitization against food allergens).
6. the trial registration number is wrong.
7. the flowchart numbers have errors, for example the size of the vitamin D group at 3 months need to be N=91 and not N=90.
8. the “vitamin D hypothesis” did not emerge to explain associations found between regions of higher latitudes and increased risk of development of allergic diseases in children – the hypothesis emerged by theoretical considerations of the immune effects of artificial vitamin D supplementation.

JACI – how did that survive your review?

17.1.2020 Update

As it turned out, I didn’t find all issue, there are even more when reading now the review of Maslin et al.

 

CC-BY-NC Science Surf , accessed 24.03.2026
Philosophy, Software

On the irrelevance of hypothesis testing in the computer age

Geoffrey R. Loftus in Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers 1993, 25 (2), 25() 256

Hypothesis testing, while by far the most common statistical technique for generating conclusions from data, is nonetheless not very informative. It emphasizes a banal and confusing question (“Is it true that some set of population means are not all identical to one another?”) whose answer is, in a mathematical sense, almost inevitably known (“No”). Hypothesis testing, as it is customarily implemented, ignores two issues that are generally much more interesting, important, and relevant: What is thepattern of population means over conditions, and what are the magnitudes of various variability measures (e.g., standard errors of the mean, estimates of population standard deviations)?

so auch in G. Lind “Effektstärken: Statistische, praktische und theoretische Bedeutsamkeit empirischer Befunde”, Privatdruck 2012

Was aber selten (viel zu selten!) in Erwägung gezogen wird, ist die Möglichkeit, Befunde auf ihre theoretische, inhaltliche Bedeut- samkeit hin zu untersuchen: Welche Wertedifferenz ist für unser subjektives Empfinden und unsere Handlungen bedeutsam? Ab welcher Effektstärke können wir davon sprechen, dass eine Therapie- methode oder eine pädagogische Intervention wirklich etwas bringen und den Aufwand lohnen, den alle Beteiligten investieren müssen? Tritt der Effekt immer oder nur unter bestimmten Bedingungen auf? Ist er an Besonderheiten der Studie (Umfang des Samples, Streuung der unabhängigen Variablen) gebunden? Passt der Effekt zu dem, was wir bereits über die Variablen wissen, die wir untersuchen, oder stellt er fundiert geglaubte Theorien in Frage?

 

CC-BY-NC Science Surf , accessed 24.03.2026
Philosophy

The fascination of what’s being difficult

BY WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS

The fascination of what’s difficult
Has dried the sap out of my veins, and rent
Spontaneous joy and natural content
Out of my heart. There’s something ails our colt
That must, as if it had not holy blood
Nor on Olympus leaped from cloud to cloud,
Shiver under the lash, strain, sweat and jolt
As though it dragged road metal. My curse on plays
That have to be set up in fifty ways,
On the day’s war with every knave and dolt,
Theatre business, management of men.
I swear before the dawn comes round again
I’ll find the stable and pull out the bolt.

 

CC-BY-NC Science Surf , accessed 24.03.2026