“On a more general note, the high degree of anxiety provoked by the WHO’s message, and their rapid correction of their intended meaning emphasises the need for scientists and science organisations not to hide behind precise terms that may be misleading to a general audience.”
The general audience doesn't have a hard time at all, it's journalists and editors who are deliberately framing everything for clicks.
What happens when scientists do acknowledge uncertainty is the question behind a study, published March 23 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of the Sciences. It explored “The Effects of Communicating Uncertainty on Public Trust in Facts and Numbers.”
“The accusations of a post-truth society, and claims that the public ‘had had enough of experts,’ prompted us to investigate whether trust in ‘experts’ was lowered by their openly admitting uncertainty about what they know,” said Dr. Spiegelhalter, one of the principal investigators.
The study’s findings suggest that being transparent about uncertainty does not harm the public’s trust in the facts or in the source.
The notion the public can't handle the truth has always been elitist fiction, and the anecdotes they reach for as proof are invariably problems caused by journalists, not facts.
'Uncertainty' has been the overriding theme of Canadian messaging from the PM, Premiers, and Officers of Health. Most are saying 'don't re-open until we see a decline in cases, IF that happens.' There's been a huge shift from bluster and 'let's get back to business' to a watching and waiting approach. Only the extremists are yelling about weak leadership or contradictions in messaging. We're embracing the mystery for now.
Wombaticus Rex » Tue Apr 28, 2020 1:09 pm wrote:The general audience doesn't have a hard time at all, it's journalists and editors who are deliberately framing everything for clicks.
Agreed. In this case, they took an inoccuous statement of scientific caution (delivered in a longer press conference) and turned it into a scaremongering headline.
But since it speaks to their fears, many among the public have been busy repeating it, over and over, daily. (One fear is that the virus is super-deadly and all who relativize that are tantamount to killers. Another fear is that their faith in the form of the lockdowns might be mistaken.)
The notion the public can't handle the truth has always been elitist fiction, and the anecdotes they reach for as proof are invariably problems caused by journalists, not facts.
Oh yes. Plus, they pretend their skew is exclusively to be sober so as to maintain a sense of calm. In reality, they are sober on the cover-ups, and rabid on the panics.
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We meet at the borders of our being, we dream something of each others reality. - Harvey of R.I.
To Justice my maker from on high did incline: I am by virtue of its might divine, The highest Wisdom and the first Love.
Project Willow » 24 Apr 2020 06:09 wrote:Dr. Erickson from Bakersfield California press briefing on their local ABC channel. Some paraphrasing from the video:
“We’ve studied this, each of us, for twenty years, and … we ask, are we following the science?
...
“We need to put measures in place so economic shutdown like this does not happen again. We quarantine the sick, not the healthy. If you’re going to dance on somebody’s constitutional rights, you better have a good scientific reason, and not just theory.
identity » 24 Apr 2020 10:09 wrote:Dr. Kaufman speaks with Dr. Jennifer Daniels about COVID-19 and more: "Having COVID-19 does not increase your chances of death."
At this rate it seems like after the Democrats take the presidency and both houses of Congress, there will be some kind of Soviet style Cheka for going and getting all the people who ignored the lockdown rules. I mean after the millions of people die, and somebody has to be blamed, and the structural responsibility of corporations is ignored, and examples need to be made, doesn't it seem like the backlash for this will be spectacular? Given this behavior and the track record of lying about every single thing, can anyone even believe them when they say that they are testing negative?
Vice President Mike Pence tours Mayo Clinic without coronavirus mask even though he was told to wear one
Vice President Mike Pence on Tuesday toured the Mayo Clinic without wearing a mask, despite that renowned medical facility telling him that masks are required for visitors and everyone else there to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
At one point during his vist to the Mayo Clinic, video of Pence showed him surrounded by 10 people, including a patient, who unlike him all were wearing masks.
Pence, who leads President Donald Trump’s coronavirus task force, later suggested to reporters that he did not need to wear a mask because he is tested regularly for the virus, and does not have it.
The Mayo Clinic, which is located in Rochester, Minnesota, is requiring all patients, visitors and staff to wear a face covering or mask to slow the spread of Covid-19.
The clinic said in a Twitter post that it had informed Pence of its policy mandating mask before he toured the facility.
About a half hour after that tweet was posted, it was deleted by the Mayo Clinic.
People wearing masks greeted Pence at an airport, video shows.
The vice president was not wearing a mask when he got off his plane and headed to the Mayo Clinic, where he was greeted with applause and cheers by facility workers, most of whom were wearing masks.
While at the facility, Pence participated in a discussion with top doctors there, along with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Rep. Jim Hagedorn, a Republican whose district includes the city of Rochester.
Pence, who was accompanied on his visit by federal Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn, appeared to be the only official who participated in that discussion who did not wear a mask, according to a pool report. Hahn reportedly wore a mask during the tour.
On the same day that Pence visited the Mayo Clinic, the tally of Americans who have been diagnosed with coronavirus infections topped 1 million. At least 57,266 Americans have died from Covid-19.
Pence was asked about why he did not wear a mask in the first question at a press conference at the facility after he completed the tour and discussion.
“As vice president of the United States, I’m tested for the coronavirus on a regular basis, and everyone who is around me is tested for the coronavirus,” Pence said.
“When the [federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] issued guidelines about wearing a mask it was their recognition that people that may have the coronavirus could prevent the possibility of conveying the virus to someone else by wearing a mask,” Pence said.
“And since I don’t have the coronavirus I thought it would be a good opportunity for me to be here to be able to speak to these researchers, these incredible health-care personnel and look them in the eye and say, ‘thank you,’ ” the vice president said.
Pence later was asked by another reporter how frequently he is tested, and whether he thought that wearing a mask might send a “positive signal to the American public.”
In response, Pence did not directly answer the question about the signal wearing a mask could send.
But the vice president reiterated that he was tested “on a regular basis.”
He added, “And I agree with the CDC guidance that wearing a mask doesn’t necessarily protect you from the coronavirus, but wearing a mask might prevent you from inadvertently conveying the virus to a loved one, family member or friend.”
“So we think they’re very useful in that respect, and we respect that altogether,” Pence said.
A Mayo Clinic spokesman, when asked for comment, said in email that, “Mayo shared the masking policy with the VP’s office.”
The spokesman did not respond to the question of why the Mayo Clinic deleted its tweet about Pence.
But the Mayo Clinic did post a new tweet saying it was “grateful” for Pence’s visit.
Pence’s aides last week told The New York Times that he did not wear a mask for the same reasons he gave Tuesday.
But the newspaper noted that Pence could contract the virus between his tests, and that the tests are not always accurate.
Trump three weeks ago said that new guidance from the CDC urged all Americans to wear masks in public settings, to help reduce the risk of spreading the coronavirus.
But Trump said he would not follow that guidance himself.
“I just don’t want to wear one myself, it’s a recommendation,” Trump said at the time.
“Somehow sitting in the Oval Office behind that beautiful Resolute Desk, the great Resolute Desk, I think wearing a face mask as I greet presidents, dictators, kings, queens, I don’t know, I don’t see it for myself.”
identity » Fri Apr 24, 2020 5:09 am wrote:Dr. Kaufman speaks with Dr. Jennifer Daniels about COVID-19 and more: "Having COVID-19 does not increase your chances of death."
Beyond that thrilling teaser can you spare a few words in summary of the one-hour talk show, and perhaps tell those of us you'd like to watch it how she explains the levels of excess death in New York City (and other places) over the last two months? Because that would sort of come up automatically. To what does she attribute these data?
I would guess environmental factors - air pollution, electromagnetic fields of various kinds that exhaust the adrenal glands, all that asbestos from 9/11 that is still around being cleaned up by remediation companies, processed food, transgenic food, even organic food contains environmental pollutants, social stress, work stress, fear. There are so many factors that get swept under the rug as insignificant, but when they are added up they are very significant. It could also be an affliction of affluence that having more access to pharmaceutical medicine throughout life also means racking up more cumulative negative side effects. There was a famous case written up in the New York Times of a Greek man from Ikaria who was diagnosed with terminal cancer, received no treatment, moved back to Ikaria, and had spontaneous remission just from leaving the city. It shouldn't be a surprise that New York City has it really bad.
Also the news about the 30 different mutations being discovered Wuhan alone suggests that New York could have a much worse strain of it that came from Europe. If the virus mutated into 30 different strains in Wuhan, how much mutation has occurred in the rest of the world? How much mutation in New York City alone? Probably a lot. The New York City version could be even worse than Europe.
This would also correspond to the hypothesis that cancer diagnosis (as well subsequent treatment) in the US is in itself a leading cause of death.
Are the tests indicative reinfections reliable? Are certain COVID-19 test reliable while others are unreliable? Are any COVID-19 tests reliable? If so, which COVID-19 tests? Who is getting tested? Who isn't?
Are ventilators helping or hurting people with severe COVID-19 symptoms? Are our lockdowns helping or hurting people in general? Do the answers to either of these questions depend the strain of the virus?
Do viruses even cause illnesses or are they just associated with illnesses?
identity » 24 Apr 2020 10:09 wrote:Dr. Kaufman speaks with Dr. Jennifer Daniels about COVID-19 and more: "Having COVID-19 does not increase your chances of death."
That video deserves to be pulled for the incredibly stupid title, because all human beings are born with a 100% chance of death that stays the same no matter what. I didn't watch it, the title made it obvious that the video was going to be full of master debations.
Are the tests indicative reinfections reliable? Are certain COVID-19 test reliable while others are unreliable? Are any COVID-19 tests reliable? If so, which COVID-19 tests? Who is getting tested? Who isn't?
Are ventilators helping or hurting people with severe COVID-19 symptoms? Are our lockdowns helping or hurting people in general? Do the answers to either of these questions depend the strain of the virus?
Do viruses even cause illnesses or are they just associated with illnesses?
stickdog99 wrote:This would also correspond to the hypothesis that cancer diagnosis (as well subsequent treatment) in the US is in itself a leading cause of death.
This is a great documentary on that subject. The story of Max Gerson is important for everyone to know.
Your hyperbolic assertions are not helpful for having a rational conversation, though. Cancer is a leading cause of death. Cancer treatment does lead to more cancer and does kill people, and there are alternatives to what is pushed by the government that could be much better in many cases, giving them a better quality of life instead of exploiting them for money. Getting (correctly) diagnosed with cancer does not do anything to cause death. That is a totally insane thing to say, and you are begging for endless semantic master debations. I wish you wouldn't talk like that because it makes me (and many other people) look like a crazy person. Please stop.
Never mind the eleventeen dead microbiologists and poor James Taylor of The Galaxy Project, I wonder how this tracks back to Apotex?
"O Oysters," said the Carpenter, "You've had a pleasant run! Shall we be trotting home again?' But answer came there none-- And this was scarcely odd, because They'd eaten every one.
You know why in Germany until recently face masks were prohibited in public spaces and you could be fined for wearing one? - ( now off course you get fined if you don't wear one ) - because face masks were seen as a sign of oppression from a patriarchal belief system and prevented open communication. Lol!
