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This is Professor George Church one of the world experts today in biology and DNA, and age 65. Consider he may have a better handle on risks, especially long t

by neffy 6y ago

This is Professor George Church one of the world experts today in biology and DNA, and age 65. Consider he may have a better handle on risks, especially long term survival risks (check out the long term survivor risks that surfaced with SARs), than most people. Also he's been a Harvard Professor since forever, so I imagine he has quite a nice house.

gnusty_gnurc 6y ago
Experts can also be morons, these aren't exclusive terms. (I should clarify - he may have good reasons to stay inside for 5 months and I think that's anybody's prerogative to decide their risk tolerance wrt covid. But for most people that's absolutely insane, essentially agoraphobic. I've seen evidence some otherwise completely healthy people are long-haul locked inside their small apartment and it's sad to see.)
- melling 6y ago
  The part we aren’t discussing is that he understands that some people can have the disease for months. He is 65 and probably doesn’t want to damage his body. Why take any risk this early in our understanding? A year from now we’re going to know so much more about Coronavirus. “ reported that as many as one-third of patients who test positive for covid-19 but are never hospitalized battle symptoms for weeks or even months after contracting the virus. “I think that people are highly underestimating this disease,” Church says.“
- wesleywt 6y ago
  I don't think you know who George Church is.
- neffy 6y ago
  How shall I put this - I took his course. Absolutely not a moron. Unlike so many I fear of his fellow countrymen.
- clairity 6y ago
  it's more that being an expert doesn't rid you of biases, and things like recency and availability (not to mention authority and esteem) combined with our robust and unwavering bias against novel dangers, is more potent than our rational brains can often handle, no matter who you are. and sometimes you're too close to the issue: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_students%27_disease https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_students%27_disease
trombonechamp 6y ago
He is also known for doing ridiculous things to his body in the name of science...
bhickey 6y ago
George has also survived cancer and at least one heart attack. His mortality risk is probably on the high end compared to the average 65 year old, though he isn't obese.
gilrain 6y ago
Are you sure he knows better than bloviating software developers? Seems unlikely. /s
- neffy 6y ago
  Plus the junk code he gets to try to understand is actually worse than theirs. Improbable as that might also seem sometimes.
  - NateEag 6y ago
    Harder to read != worse. I have yet to see a programmer write code that manifests an artifact as effective, adaptable, and robust as a human body.
  - antonvs 6y ago
    "Worse" might not be the right adjective. The code he works with scales horizontally to billions of cooperating instances, apparently can produce consciousness, and has been rigorously tested over geological timescales.
- robocat 6y ago
  Sarcasm should not be used on HN - covered by "Don't be snarky" in the guidelines. Disclaimer: I have a love/hate relationship with sarcasm myself!
- Barrin92 6y ago
  While I respect expertise a lot it's not necessarily the case that a disease expert has a more reasonable take on personal behaviour, in fact funnily enough I've met a lot of people in the field who are extreme OCD level germaphobes, that is to say they may be irationally afraid due to their of work Sort of like software developers turning neurotic about minor glitches because, not despite of their knowledge
djsumdog 6y ago
Thanks for that. At first I thought his isolation was insane, but his age does put him in a particularly bad risk group. My father is over that age, and he's also near Atlanta, but isolated in a suburban home, wears a mask, gets food from other family members that are being very careful, etc. I'm glad he's at least in a place where he can get outside (in his yard). Being in an apartment building and never getting out sounds like prison.

by neffy 6y ago

gnusty_gnurc 6y ago

Experts can also be morons, these aren't exclusive terms. (I should clarify - he may have good reasons to stay inside for 5 months and I think that's anybody's prerogative to decide their risk tolerance wrt covid. But for most people that's absolutely insane, essentially agoraphobic. I've seen evidence some otherwise completely healthy people are long-haul locked inside their small apartment and it's sad to see.)

melling 6y ago
The part we aren’t discussing is that he understands that some people can have the disease for months. He is 65 and probably doesn’t want to damage his body. Why take any risk this early in our understanding? A year from now we’re going to know so much more about Coronavirus. “ reported that as many as one-third of patients who test positive for covid-19 but are never hospitalized battle symptoms for weeks or even months after contracting the virus. “I think that people are highly underestimating this disease,” Church says.“
wesleywt 6y ago
I don't think you know who George Church is.
neffy 6y ago
How shall I put this - I took his course. Absolutely not a moron. Unlike so many I fear of his fellow countrymen.
clairity 6y ago
it's more that being an expert doesn't rid you of biases, and things like recency and availability (not to mention authority and esteem) combined with our robust and unwavering bias against novel dangers, is more potent than our rational brains can often handle, no matter who you are. and sometimes you're too close to the issue: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_students%27_disease https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_students%27_disease

trombonechamp 6y ago

He is also known for doing ridiculous things to his body in the name of science...

bhickey 6y ago

George has also survived cancer and at least one heart attack. His mortality risk is probably on the high end compared to the average 65 year old, though he isn't obese.

gilrain 6y ago

Are you sure he knows better than bloviating software developers? Seems unlikely. /s

neffy 6y ago
Plus the junk code he gets to try to understand is actually worse than theirs. Improbable as that might also seem sometimes.
- NateEag 6y ago
  Harder to read != worse. I have yet to see a programmer write code that manifests an artifact as effective, adaptable, and robust as a human body.
- antonvs 6y ago
  "Worse" might not be the right adjective. The code he works with scales horizontally to billions of cooperating instances, apparently can produce consciousness, and has been rigorously tested over geological timescales.
robocat 6y ago
Sarcasm should not be used on HN - covered by "Don't be snarky" in the guidelines. Disclaimer: I have a love/hate relationship with sarcasm myself!
Barrin92 6y ago
While I respect expertise a lot it's not necessarily the case that a disease expert has a more reasonable take on personal behaviour, in fact funnily enough I've met a lot of people in the field who are extreme OCD level germaphobes, that is to say they may be irationally afraid due to their of work Sort of like software developers turning neurotic about minor glitches because, not despite of their knowledge

djsumdog 6y ago

Thanks for that. At first I thought his isolation was insane, but his age does put him in a particularly bad risk group. My father is over that age, and he's also near Atlanta, but isolated in a suburban home, wears a mask, gets food from other family members that are being very careful, etc. I'm glad he's at least in a place where he can get outside (in his yard). Being in an apartment building and never getting out sounds like prison.