Quick update by folks that have a broad, fact-based understanding of the problem (instead of internet disinformation). Now, slaves do what they're forced to do - but wise (wo)men are guided by the rightness of their actions.
Quick update by folks that have a broad, fact-based understanding of the problem (instead of internet disinformation). Now, slaves do what they're forced to do - but wise (wo)men are guided by the rightness of their actions.
Is science fact based? Are probability distributions "facts"? Are confidence intervals "facts"? Are the results of massive simulations (think climate and weather models) "facts"?
Modern risk management relies on science but does it rely on scientific facts? Which ones?
In terms of individual responses to the pandemic, the real divide is socio-economic, not left, centre or right. That is hard to talk about in respectful, helpful terms.
Must admit that over the course of the pandemic, I have often wondered what is wrong with the US public education system.
Kinda swinging wildly there. I'd start with the most important beginning - differentiating facts from opinions, which is the primary mess. Once you leave that behind, and stick to things that are, in the case of immunizations and health care, measurable and quantifiable, then you live in the world of facts.
From those data that are collected, specialists can create imaginary futures/treatments/outcomes based on probabilities. But, inasmuch as these are imagined futures, I think you're leaving the realm of facts.
Risk management, preventative health care, even most "western" treatment is tied to the idea of double blind, peer reviewed studies to prove that the base ideas - the facts - are legitimate ones. A lot of things are holdovers from the days of superstition (don't go outside; you'll catch cold) and they have cultural tenacity because they seem to pan out even though they're just superstition - so you don't want to lump them in with real facts accidentally.
Lastly, what's wrong with the US public education system? A combination of money (teachers aren't paid anything, and yet you want good ones to watch/educate your children?) and politics (you're teaching something contradictory to the Bible? Heresy and we need laws against it!) and now, culture (family culture has fragmented so education isn't valued and grades mean little to a lot of people. Ignorant? I'll just look it up on Google in between Only Fans shoots.)
Yeah, there's Science which - ideally - is fact based, not opinionated (but can be speculated), and is objective and cold-hearted. Science just is, and anyone thinking otherwise is just holding their breath in a temper tantrum. And, sometimes Science isn't what we thought it was, not because Science changes, but because we weren't seeing the whole picture. And, as we get a more complete understanding of Science, we have to amend, or even strike through, the suppositions that were misunderstandings. But Science doesn't change because we want it to, ever.
And then there's politics, which is ephemeral, arbitrary, negotiable, and man-made. It has absolutely nothing to do with Science. So mixing those together is the folly of hubris, and should never be done. Science should always trump politics.
Is science fact based? Are probability distributions "facts"? Are confidence intervals "facts"? Are the results of massive simulations (think climate and weather models) "facts"?
Modern risk management relies on science but does it rely on scientific facts? Which ones?
In terms of individual responses to the pandemic, the real divide is socio-economic, not left, centre or right. That is hard to talk about in respectful, helpful terms.
Must admit that over the course of the pandemic, I have often wondered what is wrong with the US public education system.
Couldn't get past the paywall so this will have to do ...
Yeah, well you should read the article. Here is an extract that explains the main factors.
"At this point in the pandemic, a large majority of Americans have received at least their primary series of coronavirus vaccines, so it makes sense that vaccinated people are making up a greater share of fatalities.
Vaccines lose potency against the virus over time and variants arise that are better able to resist the vaccines, so continued boosters are needed to continue to prevent illness and death."
The last point is important - people who received only a single vaccination are included in the vaccinated group, even though the efficacy wanes with time.
"Letâs take a look at deaths in August, when the highly contagious BA.5 variant reached its peak:
That month, unvaccinated people aged 6 months and older died at about six times the rate of those who had received their primary series of shots.
People with one booster dose were even better protected. Unvaccinated people over the age of 5 had about 8 times the risk of dying from a coronavirus infection than those who received a booster shot.
Among individuals who were eligible to receive additional booster shots, the gap is even more striking. Unvaccinated people 50 and up had 12 times the risk of dying from covid-19 than adults the same age with two or more booster doses."
Itâs still truethat vaccinated groups are at a lower risk of dying from a covid-19 infection than the unvaccinated when the data is adjusted for age. An analysis released by the CDC last week underscores the protection that additional booster shots offer against severe illness and death as immunity wanes.
Location: Perched on the precipice of the cauldron of truth
Posted:
Nov 22, 2022 - 10:37am
kurtster wrote:
Similar to another relevant POV I was taught and grew up with is ...
Don't mock other people for their faults or defects because someday that could very well be you. Be kind and extend the benefit of the doubt first out of the gate. Presume the best of intentions until you know otherwise.
A Karma kinda of thing.
In the context of COVID-19 and apropos of some of the ongoing discussion about it here and elsewhere, it seems to me that there is a presumption of bad intentions on the part of certain institutional actors, including government officials, politicians, scientists, pharmaceutical companies, and the media, that skews any debate on the effectiveness/necessity/appropriateness of vaccines and other measures.
