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I had the same opinion until my friend convinced me otherwise. The scientific community is taking a long-term approach here. If they were to recommend a drug ba

I had the same opinion until my friend convinced me otherwise. The scientific community is taking a long-term approach here. If they were to recommend a drug based without a scientific trial, they risk losing the trust of the world (either from people who want them to only follow the science, and the risk that it is incorrect). The anti-science block is growing, and they are loud. If they continue to grow it could be an even greater threat to humanity than COVID-19. Science is attempting to fight against it by retreating to a science-only corner, for better or for worse.

emn13 5y ago
It would be nice if we somehow found a way as society to get the message out that scientists often just don't know. Because too often stories like this are interpreted by quite a few people as "science says ivermectin doesn't work". And perhaps that conclusion will turn out to be right, but the point is the jury is still out - and often enough it turns out wrong, and when such a false statement turns out to be wrong, people lose faith in science regardless, even though a reasonable interpretation of the science actually said "don't know" not "doesn't work". This is kind of a corollary to the issues with rejecting conspiracies - when we reject a supposed conspiracy, due to lack of evidence, that can easily come across as claiming the conspiratorial claim is outright false - but in a sea of such claims, some then turn out to have at least a kernel of truth, which then turns into a big gotcha moment: "see, they're repressing us, we were right all along!" So while I understand the idea of maintaining trust by not backing anything uncertain, I'm not sure it's the right call. Maybe communicating that uncertainty is better, and even communicating hints and possibilities - instead of trying to control the narrative but thereby ceding the ground to nutjobs until certainty arrives, often granting them considerable prestige if they guess sort of correctly ahead of time.
thu2111 5y ago
If they were to recommend a drug based without a scientific trial, they risk losing the trust of the world But that's already happened with vaccines. A bit late to worry about that now.

emn13 5y ago

It would be nice if we somehow found a way as society to get the message out that scientists often just don't know. Because too often stories like this are interpreted by quite a few people as "science says ivermectin doesn't work". And perhaps that conclusion will turn out to be right, but the point is the jury is still out - and often enough it turns out wrong, and when such a false statement turns out to be wrong, people lose faith in science regardless, even though a reasonable interpretation of the science actually said "don't know" not "doesn't work". This is kind of a corollary to the issues with rejecting conspiracies - when we reject a supposed conspiracy, due to lack of evidence, that can easily come across as claiming the conspiratorial claim is outright false - but in a sea of such claims, some then turn out to have at least a kernel of truth, which then turns into a big gotcha moment: "see, they're repressing us, we were right all along!" So while I understand the idea of maintaining trust by not backing anything uncertain, I'm not sure it's the right call. Maybe communicating that uncertainty is better, and even communicating hints and possibilities - instead of trying to control the narrative but thereby ceding the ground to nutjobs until certainty arrives, often granting them considerable prestige if they guess sort of correctly ahead of time.

thu2111 5y ago

If they were to recommend a drug based without a scientific trial, they risk losing the trust of the world But that's already happened with vaccines. A bit late to worry about that now.