roland comments on Teaching English in Shanghai - Less Wrong

13 Post author: ShanghaiTEFLer 02 November 2012 11:13AM

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Comment author: roland 02 November 2012 06:37:04PM 5 points [-]

How is the pollution in Shanghai?

Comment author: ShanghaiTEFLer 02 November 2012 10:39:25PM 6 points [-]

Awful. If you have bad asthma don't go. It has improved steadily for the past five years but it's still quite, quite bad.

Comment author: roland 02 November 2012 11:07:29PM -1 points [-]

Regarding dating does the same apply to other areas of south east Asia? I was thinking about Hong Kong and Thailand, Vietnam.

Comment author: MileyCyrus 03 November 2012 03:31:31AM 1 point [-]

Yes, at least according to what I've read.

Comment author: MileyCyrus 03 November 2012 03:30:24AM -1 points [-]

Can you escape air pollution by going indoors? Or does the pollution permeate the entire city?

Comment author: gwern 03 November 2012 03:54:18AM 4 points [-]

Or does the pollution permeate the entire city?

Where exactly would this unpolluted air indoors be coming from?

Comment author: Plasmon 03 November 2012 09:58:58AM 3 points [-]

Filters? Plants? This TED talk comes to mind

... an arrangement of three common houseplants, used in specific spots in a home or office building, can result in measurably cleaner indoor air

Comment author: gwern 03 November 2012 02:53:33PM 3 points [-]

Filters?

Typically only work on particulates past a certain size, which won't deal with many forms of pollution. I've heard of some businesses in Beijing using them but even if one is fortunate enough to work at such a place, that leaves the rest of one's life.

measurably cleaner indoor air

Ah, my old foe: statistical significance. (You can also measure the level of cyanide in your breakfast eggs, doesn't mean you're going to be re-enacting Arsenic and Old Lace anytime soon.)

Comment author: D_Alex 05 November 2012 06:46:43AM 0 points [-]

Possibly from the air intakes located on the roof of the buildings. Pollution is much worse on street level than 20 stories up. At least in Jakarta, where I lived for 6 months.

Comment author: gwern 05 November 2012 03:20:22PM 0 points [-]

IIRC, the US Embassy's controversial pollution readings were being taken from their rooftop, and in photos of Beijing you can see the smog in the sky - so the rooftop pollution may still be pretty bad.

Comment author: ShanghaiTEFLer 05 November 2012 10:10:36AM 0 points [-]

If only. Chinese builders do not believe in central air conditioning. Every room gets its own damned air conditioner. Unless your budget is much, much greater than any teacher's will ever be.

Comment author: aelephant 04 November 2012 01:04:17AM 2 points [-]

Be careful what you say about pollution in Shanghai. The American Consulate had their Weibo (microblog) taken down by the Chinese government for posting information about the pollution in Shanghai.