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from the carefully-choose-your-buckets dept.
My job was to examine blood lead data from our local Hurley Children's Hospital in Flint for spatial patterns, or neighborhood-level clusters of elevated levels, so we could quash the doubts of state officials and confirm our concerns. Unbeknownst to me, this research project would ultimately help blow the lid off the water crisis, vindicating months of activism and outcry by dedicated Flint residents.
As I ran the addresses through a precise parcel-level geocoding process and visually inspected individual blood lead levels, I was immediately struck by the disparity in the spatial pattern. It was obvious Flint children had become far more likely than out-county children to experience elevated blood lead when compared to two years prior.
How had the state so blatantly and callously disregarded such information? To me – a geographer trained extensively in geographic information science, or computer mapping – the answer was obvious upon hearing their unit of analysis: the ZIP code.
ZIP codes – the bane of my existence as a geographer. They confused my childhood friends into believing they lived in an entirely different city. They add cachet to parts of our communities (think 90210) while generating skepticism toward others relegated to less sexy ZIP codes.
A tale to remind the scientists and technologists among us why it's important to do our jobs well.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 21 2016, @03:13PM
I wonder if the USPS would (correctly) deliver a letter with only GPS coordinates.
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Wednesday September 21 2016, @04:49PM
I remember an old story of a letter delivered to (translated) "Bum usually near the church's left door".
Some postal workers actually like a challenge.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by HiThere on Wednesday September 21 2016, @06:27PM
That was once true. The post office has changed a lot since then, though, and I suspect that these days there'd be not the slightest attempt to deliver...it would probably never get near the local carrier.
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Wednesday September 21 2016, @06:44PM
True. The public services are under obligation to be efficient. No wasting time with serving outliers.
The competitors trying to kill USPS even made sure to pay for a law forcing it into being profitable and fully financing pensions, which would take care of any frivolous notions of being an equal service unifying the country.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 21 2016, @09:46PM
True, that. These days even properly addressed mail sent to a major metropolitan area will get returned as "unknown addressee" by the knuckle-scrapers at the local post office. It has happened to me at least a couple of times over the last couple of years. The only thing they seem capable of delivering without fail is unsolicited advertising. Gee, I wonder why that might be? My best guess is that it's because they know who their real customers are. Hint: it ain't yer Mom sending you a birthday card.
(Score: 2) by goody on Wednesday September 21 2016, @11:59PM
Probably because bulk mailers validate all of their recipient addresses with the USPS address verification/correction systems prior to mailing?
(Score: 2) by urza9814 on Tuesday September 27 2016, @12:26AM
Or because they contract with USPS to ensure they get delivered no matter what.
Took me six months to get unsubscribed from RedPlum's ad mailers. First they were coming to me at my address, so I unsubscribed. Then they started coming to 'Resident' at my current address, so I unsubscribed again. Guess what they did next? They removed my address (so I can't even attempt to unsubscribe anymore), but still deliver them. Literally the address field is blank, there is no address anywhere on the thing at all, but it still gets delivered consistently. Bulk mailers contract with the USPS to just put one in every box in a specific area or served by specific post offices, so they don't have to get the address right, or give any address at all. If they DO give an address, it's probably just to hide how they're actually getting the things delivered. That's also why bulk mailers are the one thing that's extremely common to find delivered to the 'wrong' address (if you bother to check) -- the mail carrier knows it doesn't matter, they're just supposed to stuff one in every box regardless, so what does it matter if you get your neighbors'?