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Ah, the no true scotsman fallacy. If only we had destroyed our health and economy harder, it would have worked!

by tazjin 5y ago

sokoloff 5y ago
It was more an expression of frustration that what we did in the US was economically, psychologically, and socially destructive while not maximizing the possible benefit. I don’t know if the hill on the right or the one on the left had a higher peak, but it sure does seem like we managed to wade through the river in the valley in the middle. “Don’t let some businesses be open, but let some of their competitors stay open, wear a T-shirt over your mouth, and gather in groups of not more than six before dispersing to forage for food in the supermarkets as often as you like.” How could that possibly fail to contain a contagious disease?
TchoBeer 5y ago
That's not what a no true Scotsman fallacy is, GP literally claimed that other countries did in fact take the necessary precautions and did better than us, which is would be a true Scotsman.
- tazjin 5y ago
  It's exactly what it is, look: "Lockdowns work!" "Lockdowns didn't work in the West." "Those were no true lockdowns!" This is essentially the summary of the parent comment.
  - TchoBeer 5y ago
    Except the lockdowns in china were, according to GP, true lockdowns. Thus, there are true lockdowns. The no true Scotsman fallacy isn't just any time you clarify yourself.
sudosysgen 5y ago
Plenty of things in the world work like that. Half assing something often has worse side effects than whole-assing it. If we had 4 weeks of strict lockdowns and then returned to normal we would have both less covid, a better economy, and better mental health.
- nradov 5y ago
  That's just wishful thinking. The virus is so highly contagious that as soon as the lockdown ended, the exponential spread would start up again. So forget it, most rational people aren't willing to tolerate more restrictions. At this point we need to focus on vaccinating as many people as possible and otherwise just accept the risk.
  - sudosysgen 5y ago
    I'm talking about the established reality of what actually happened, not speculation.

Ah, the no true scotsman fallacy. If only we had destroyed our health and economy harder, it would have worked!

by tazjin 5y ago

Ah, the no true scotsman fallacy. If only we had destroyed our health and economy harder, it would have worked!

It was more an expression of frustration that what we did in the US was economically, psychologically, and socially destructive while not maximizing the possible benefit. I don’t know if the hill on the right or the one on the left had a higher peak, but it sure does seem like we managed to wade through the river in the valley in the middle. “Don’t let some businesses be open, but let some of their competitors stay open, wear a T-shirt over your mouth, and gather in groups of not more than six before dispersing to forage for food in the supermarkets as often as you like.” How could that possibly fail to contain a contagious disease?

TchoBeer 5y ago

That's not what a no true Scotsman fallacy is, GP literally claimed that other countries did in fact take the necessary precautions and did better than us, which is would be a true Scotsman.

tazjin 5y ago
It's exactly what it is, look: "Lockdowns work!" "Lockdowns didn't work in the West." "Those were no true lockdowns!" This is essentially the summary of the parent comment.
- TchoBeer 5y ago
  Except the lockdowns in china were, according to GP, true lockdowns. Thus, there are true lockdowns. The no true Scotsman fallacy isn't just any time you clarify yourself.

sudosysgen 5y ago

Plenty of things in the world work like that. Half assing something often has worse side effects than whole-assing it. If we had 4 weeks of strict lockdowns and then returned to normal we would have both less covid, a better economy, and better mental health.

nradov 5y ago
That's just wishful thinking. The virus is so highly contagious that as soon as the lockdown ended, the exponential spread would start up again. So forget it, most rational people aren't willing to tolerate more restrictions. At this point we need to focus on vaccinating as many people as possible and otherwise just accept the risk.
- sudosysgen 5y ago
  I'm talking about the established reality of what actually happened, not speculation.