Flatten the curve of armchair epidemiology
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Somebody has been watching our forum!
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Unfortunately we’ve all had to keep our own epidemiological counsel since the experts and politicians failed us so much.
I wasn’t going to rely on them to decide when to stop flying, when Rachel should quit riding the train to GCT every day, when to pull my kid from school, and whether to wear a mask. And I’m glad I didn’t.
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@jon-nyc said in Flatten the curve of armchair epidemiology:
I wasn’t going to rely on them to decide when to stop flying, when Rachel should quit riding the train to GCT every day, when to pull my kid from school, and whether to wear a mask. And I’m glad I didn’t.
That said, health advice that applies to the public in general who have both feet on the ground doesn't necessarily apply to people balancing on the rope with organ rejection abyss to the left and liver failure chasm to the right.
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Yes there’s that, but also the misalignment of interests.
For example, they didn’t answer the question ‘are people better off wearing masks?’ They answered the question ‘do we want everyone going out and buying masks right now?’
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@jon-nyc said in Flatten the curve of armchair epidemiology:
Unfortunately we’ve all had to keep our own epidemiological counsel since the experts and politicians failed us so much.
I wasn’t going to rely on them to decide when to stop flying, when Rachel should quit riding the train to GCT every day, when to pull my kid from school, and whether to wear a mask. And I’m glad I didn’t.
I felt silly stocking up on groceries in the first week of March, when there were no lockdowns, and then there was a grocery shortage. I felt silly buying so much soap then, too, and then that was out of stock, too. I felt silly wiping down my mail, and then a mail carrier around here went to the ICU. I felt silly keeping a distance of about 30 feet when I was still running outside, and then we came to learn runners really should maintain that kind of distance. I felt silly waiting until long after the UPS guy left before I picked up a package by the door, and now we know the virus can stay airborne for several minutes after a carrier leaves an area.
I'm trusting myself from here on out.
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@jon-nyc said in Flatten the curve of armchair epidemiology:
Yes there’s that, but also the misalignment of interests.
For example, they didn’t answer the question ‘are people better off wearing masks?’ They answered the question ‘do we want everyone going out and buying masks right now?’
Should a government lie if the lie saves lives? I'm not necessarily saying that this was the case here, but that may have very well been the intention.
Isn't this similar to how if a bomb is about to go off in a cinema, you say "everyone please leave the cinema calmly, this is a test"?
It's a bit like a prisoner's dilemma.
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One can argue it’s the right thing to do at times, but that’s just all the more reason we need to be skeptical of their advice, at least when it’s clear our interests are misaligned.
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I believe the primary reasons they are now encouraging mask usage are:
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They are sick and tired about being asked about masks.
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They are trying to give people some sense of control over their own fate. An action they can take to protect themselves and their families.
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