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Fun fact 1: Cusco is higher in elevation than Machu Pichu

Fun fact 2: Airplanes are pressured to the equivilant of 9000ft, not sea level.

Func fact 3: Cabin pressure control systems to maintain that pressure are incredibly precise and are maintained by the bleed air from the engines .

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Is fact #3 a feedback loop? I've been super into self-reinforcing feedback loops lately.

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Fun fact 4: Virtually zero air is recirculated in an aircraft. It flows from the top-down to the floor and is pulled out and vacated making Airlines second to surgical suites in safety from viruses. All the cabin air is replaced every three minutes.

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As always, great work (and this is a topic I'm diving into next season of my newsletter, so I'll be sure to link to this piece). And thank you so much for the shout-out, Andrew!

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Mike, your writing is so much fun, especially when you talk about terrible things nobody else usually wants to discuss! I feel like I have a kindred spirit out there in terms of poop and pee.

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Thank you!

….I think!

😂😂😂💩💩💩

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Effective Altruism no bueno in my book after smart people used it to rationalize doing bad things

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This feels like the exact opposite takeaway I was going for

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Yeah sorry I was right there with you until the end and then Ewww. The highest point on the Inca Trail is aptly named Dead Woman’s pass at 14,000 feet 😵

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Oct 30Liked by Andrew Smith

A colleague of mine said he actually almost died of altitude sickness. About a decade ago, he was up in the mountains somewhere (I forget the exact country), and he described precisely the euphoria/drunkennes feeling. Luckily, he was with others who knew what to do and helped him slowly navigate down to lower, safer altitudes.

Luckily, Denmark's highest point is about 170 meters, so that's not something we generally have to worry about here.

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Impressive, and also kinda scary.

Most of my experience with lightheadedness doesn't come from altitude or substances, but usually from jiu jitsu. We try to strangle one another, and sometimes those chokes are pretty successful! I know the feeling really well.

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