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It’s been a religion from day 1. PCR tests being run at too high of a cycle count was a conspiracy theory until it wasn’t. Hospitals being incentivized to mark

by desine 5y ago

It’s been a religion from day 1. PCR tests being run at too high of a cycle count was a conspiracy theory until it wasn’t. Hospitals being incentivized to mark any possible patients as COVID cases for extra government money was a conspiracy theory until it wasn’t. Mandatory vaccination with a drug that hasn’t even gotten FDA approval was a theory and yet I see people call for it. People I had had great chats with about the problems in the pharma industry, problems of government overreach. I was one of the most scientifically literate people in my friend group and now I’m an outcast because I don’t always “trust the science”. And just 2 years ago we were seeing all manner of stories on HN about experiment reproducibility, the issues with the peer review system, etc. I have been completely demoralized by the past year.

amznthrwaway 5y ago
We get it dude: you’re a far-gone extremist and you’re extremely stupid. Just fuck off out of society, you utterly useless piece of shit. You contribute nothing but whining and crying, you worthless baby.
0xbadcafebee 5y ago
We all have, dude. But just like it's not completely rational to inject everyone in the world with a brand new drug that's been rushed to market, it's equally irrational not to try every possible thing we can to stem a once-in-a-century global pandemic killing millions of people and trashing economies.
midev 5y ago
> I was one of the most scientifically literate people in my friend group and now I’m an outcast because I don’t always “trust the science”. Unless you're an expert in a field, you are not scientifically literate in that field. Being able to read a couple conclusions isn't scientific literacy. It's the same slapdash stuff that conspiracy theorists do. Find a couple publicized studies. Read the conclusions. Repeat as though you're an expert. Even in your comment, the majority of your points are political, because I suspect you're not actually scientifically literate.
- desine 5y ago
  >Unless you're an expert in a field, you are not scientifically literate in that field. Really? There's nothing in between expert level and being able to judge if data was shoehorned or was a natural fit? Only an expert in a specific field can determine if logical flaws exist? If there's possibly hidden variables impacting readings, or incomplete models? Has the scientific world become that black and white? You're either an expert or your opinion is not worthy of discussion? I'm glad that of the many things I want to rant about, one I chose was the PCR cycles. Because the creator of that technology, Kary Mulis, specifically warned about it's misuse in that manner. Now for anyone just wandering into this mess going to search him for the first time - be warned, he did hold a very controversial opinion about another disease. But I don't think anyone could appeal to a higher authority on PCR testing at its core. >Even in your comment, the majority of your points are political, because I suspect you're not actually scientifically literate. Thank you
  - midev 5y ago
    > Really? There's nothing in between expert level and being able to judge if data was shoehorned or was a natural fit? Only an expert in a specific field can determine if logical flaws exist? If there's possibly hidden variables impacting readings, or incomplete models? Generally, yes. If you don't work in the field, I doubt you can even read a single paper, let alone identify errors. > Has the scientific world become that black and white? You're either an expert or your opinion is not worthy of discussion? That's always been the case. But yes, if you are not an expert or knowledgable about a topic, your opinion generally does not mean anything. I know this is hard for people to hear. > I'm glad that of the many things I want to rant about, one I chose was the PCR cycles. Because the creator of that technology, Kary Mulis, specifically warned about it's misuse in that manner. Now for anyone just wandering into this mess going to search him for the first time - be warned, he did hold a very controversial opinion about another disease. But I don't think anyone could appeal to a higher authority on PCR testing at its core. Kary Mulis can have an opinion. You not just being an expert is repeating something you don't understand.
    - desine 5y ago

by desine 5y ago

amznthrwaway 5y ago

We get it dude: you’re a far-gone extremist and you’re extremely stupid. Just fuck off out of society, you utterly useless piece of shit. You contribute nothing but whining and crying, you worthless baby.

0xbadcafebee 5y ago

We all have, dude. But just like it's not completely rational to inject everyone in the world with a brand new drug that's been rushed to market, it's equally irrational not to try every possible thing we can to stem a once-in-a-century global pandemic killing millions of people and trashing economies.

midev 5y ago

> I was one of the most scientifically literate people in my friend group and now I’m an outcast because I don’t always “trust the science”. Unless you're an expert in a field, you are not scientifically literate in that field. Being able to read a couple conclusions isn't scientific literacy. It's the same slapdash stuff that conspiracy theorists do. Find a couple publicized studies. Read the conclusions. Repeat as though you're an expert. Even in your comment, the majority of your points are political, because I suspect you're not actually scientifically literate.

desine 5y ago
>Unless you're an expert in a field, you are not scientifically literate in that field. Really? There's nothing in between expert level and being able to judge if data was shoehorned or was a natural fit? Only an expert in a specific field can determine if logical flaws exist? If there's possibly hidden variables impacting readings, or incomplete models? Has the scientific world become that black and white? You're either an expert or your opinion is not worthy of discussion? I'm glad that of the many things I want to rant about, one I chose was the PCR cycles. Because the creator of that technology, Kary Mulis, specifically warned about it's misuse in that manner. Now for anyone just wandering into this mess going to search him for the first time - be warned, he did hold a very controversial opinion about another disease. But I don't think anyone could appeal to a higher authority on PCR testing at its core. >Even in your comment, the majority of your points are political, because I suspect you're not actually scientifically literate. Thank you
- midev 5y ago
  > Really? There's nothing in between expert level and being able to judge if data was shoehorned or was a natural fit? Only an expert in a specific field can determine if logical flaws exist? If there's possibly hidden variables impacting readings, or incomplete models? Generally, yes. If you don't work in the field, I doubt you can even read a single paper, let alone identify errors. > Has the scientific world become that black and white? You're either an expert or your opinion is not worthy of discussion? That's always been the case. But yes, if you are not an expert or knowledgable about a topic, your opinion generally does not mean anything. I know this is hard for people to hear. > I'm glad that of the many things I want to rant about, one I chose was the PCR cycles. Because the creator of that technology, Kary Mulis, specifically warned about it's misuse in that manner. Now for anyone just wandering into this mess going to search him for the first time - be warned, he did hold a very controversial opinion about another disease. But I don't think anyone could appeal to a higher authority on PCR testing at its core. Kary Mulis can have an opinion. You not just being an expert is repeating something you don't understand.
  - desine 5y ago