Random Rant Thread

[miscmisc]

The people in the US that I personally know are getting Covid left and right, and most of them are going through a really tough time.

Two of them passed away. They tested positive on the same day, and five days later they were both gone. They were old, but I must say that this virus hasn't gotten "less lethal" at all. It's entirely because of the improvement in treatment that we have lower fatality rates now.

It's stupid to still have to say this now, but this shit can make you sick like you won't believe it. It's really fucking hard. Like I said, I've been reminded over and over again of how lucky I was.

[miscmisc]

On the other hand, so few of my friends in Belgium have gotten Covid despite the fact that Belgium is literally the worst-hit non-tiny country in the entire world. I mean, specifically, I only know two.

But I know one THAI who got Covid!

Anecdotal "evidence" doesn't mean a whole lot, to put it mildly.

[miscmisc]

It drives me nuts whenever I hear someone in the US/Europe say, "Well, they had a lot of experience and knowledge because of SARS."

There were zero SARS cases in Japan. Why are people so lazy.

[miscmisc]

I really must rethink the concept of the "interconnected, borderless world" after witnessing how long it took the discoveries that were made in one part of the world to reach the others even on such an important matter as a pandemic.

Ventilation. Transmissions via talking being far more prevalent than via coughing and snoozing. Super-spreading events. The non-linear nature of the spread. The efficacy of simple facial masks. I don't know how many people's lives could've been saved had these facts been cemented as common knowledge in every corner of the world back in the spring already.

Hell, we had to wait until LATE SEPTEMBER for ventilation to be accepted globally as one of the most important factors. When Japan was talking about 3Cs, when New York Governor Andrew Cuomo was talking about indoor ventilations at every conference, the world paid hardly any attention, or analyze what they were talking about.

This is absolutely ridiculous.

Information is just information. It's people that matters.

[miscmisc]

I am open to the possibility that the efficacy of masks is actually smaller than generally believed at the moment, as long as it can be scientifically argued, as opposed to anecdotally/circumstantially (ALL the counter-arguments that I've heard fall into the latter category = not convincing at all).

But no, I will NEVER take seriously anyone who has ever peddled the "false sense of security" argument, especially when those people call themselves epidemiologists, like those Swedish experts for example, because that calls their basic credibility as scholars into question.

Epidemiology is very different from virology and immunology, which belong more in hard science, in that it is a broader study on epidemic, public health, and social behaviors. It's astonishing that you can become an epidemiologist without basic knowledge on sociology.

I thought we got over that "condom gives you a false sense of security and therefore might be counter-productive in our fight against AIDS" crap a long time ago. I thought we all agreed that condoms don't turn us into sex maniacs.

Alas. Apparently we're still stuck with that stupid pop psychology crap. Seatbelts must be killing tons of people every year, amirite.

I'd have no reason to take seriously a mathematical theory invented by someone who doesn't understand calculus no matter how cool it may sound, because there's a fundamental issue of intellectual trust there. Life is too short for me to pay attention to everyone like that.

[gols]

Nov 13, 2020 21:04:10 GMT 1 miscmisc said:

I don't pretend to be an expert on British politics. I'm not. So I never understood what the fuss was about Dominic Cummings. I just didn't get it.

I think anyone who suggests that he played such a big role in Brexit is delusional. Literally any enthusiastic reactionary prick could've done what he did, and as far as I can see in hindsight, the UK was absolutely ready for Brexit anyway.

I read some of the things he wrote. Every single one of them was desperately ordinary reactionary prose that could've been easily written by Newt Gingrich's secretary.

All British people must thank Armando Iannucci for making British politics seem 10 times as interesting as it actually is in reality. He fooled many Americans, the same way the BBC with their many science shows fool Americans into thinking that most British people are scientifically literate.

Mark me down as one of the delusional people! I don't think that he is any sort of genius, I think he just introduced the Republican-style 'say absolutely anything you want with no repercussion' campaign strategy, which the UK hadn't quite sunk to yet (apart from austerity I guess). You are looking at it from the US point of view where it all seems totally normal and tame in comparison. That he was also involved with Johnson's winning election strategy just cemented his mystique.

Also, while he may be totally ordinary in the reactionary prick gene pool, compared to Johnson and the other cabinet members he might as well be Einstein!

[miscmisc]

Fair enough. Yeah, I can only see things from the US(and Japanese/East Asian) point of view, and to be honest, Britain is a tricky subject for someone like me.

As you said, the country appears to be not quite as far gone as America in many ways. British conservatism in general is a lot more straightforward than the American mutation too.

But I can't imagine Americans actually voting for Amexit in a similar situation. It would be close, but I doubt they would cross that line.

There's Thatcherism too. It was radical. Americans had to dilute it a bit with Reaganism.

And even though I'm hardly an expert on the UK politics of today, I do know a lot about the old empire. I'm familiar with the British tradition of sudden bursts of radicalism that often spring out of nowhere, and at every turning point there were highly interesting people involved. So I tend to reflexively expect something/someone quite radical whenever the UK makes a very interesting decision.

That's why I expected Cummings to be a lot more interesting. I tend to judge people by what they write, and I was... unimpressed. I was bored, and couldn't even finish reading most of them.

But then, who's "impressive" these days? Stephen Miller? No way. Anyone can do what he did.

I guess I don't quite believe in the power of unique/exceptional individuals moving the history. Everyone seems like an easily replaceable dime-a-dozen cog.

[miscmisc]

Jesus Christ.

No more ICU beds in Switzerland. Must increase the capacity ASAP.

[miscmisc]

It's going to be disastrous four years.

[miscmisc]

Er, no, your country isn't doing that lockdown so that you will have a "normal Christmas."

You won't have a normal Christmas this year.

I don't know what your government told you, but if that was their sales pitch, they lied to you.

Look at the number of new cases, hospitalizations, deaths, and then look at the calendar.

No, you won't have a normal fucking Christmas.

[miscmisc]

[miscmisc]

Yeah, this definitely happened. No doubt.

[miscmisc]

Extremely good news:

Immunity to the Coronavirus May Last Years, New Data Hint
Blood samples from recovered patients suggest a powerful, long-lasting immune response, researchers reported.
www.nytimes.com/2020/11/17/health/coronavirus-immunity.html

While SARS-CoV-2 is throwing a huge global party, great scientific news/discoveries keep coming.

It seems as if the viruses know this is their grand last hurrah.

[miscmisc]

The hospitalization rates in many European countries - such as France, the UK and the Netherlands most notably - are suspiciously low (e.g. Japan's rates are more than 10 times as high). If their figures truly reflect the Covid-19 situation over there, we'd have to revise our understanding on this disease. Those are that kind of numbers.

I know there are shit tons of asymptomatic cases. Of course not everyone needs to be hospitalized. They are testing many. Duh. I know, and those numbers are still weird.

Tell me, honestly, how many French/British/Dutch people have been forced to tough it out at home even though they are very sick?

The British/Dutch ICU figures can't be right - especially as compared to Belgium's for example - unless they are already doing very strict pre-triage (i.e. you don't get a bed unless you (are believed to) have a high probability of survival). There's nothing wrong with that practice if there's consensus, but it's hard to compare figures as countries have very different criteria.

Of course you can lower your hospitalization/ICU rates if you don't admit sick people in. But that's not really a good thing.

[miscmisc]

Very true.