4 ms·

I didn't take dog pills and also didn't get COVID. Anecdotes are fun.

by vb6sp6 5y ago

radu_floricica 5y ago
Or maybe I DID get Covid? Or maybe.... I was a dog all along?! Sorry about that. But I do want to push on a point, mostly because I have a good quote: "It's possible to make mistakes and still lose. That's not a weakness, it's life". There is a disconnect between being right on the bets you make, and winning. In this case I could be wrong on ivermectin helping. It doesn't matter in the long run, because what matters is making decent enough bets (and of course, not being unlucky). Why "decent enough"? Because satisficing vs optimizing. I don't particularly care if the chance that ivermectin helps is 25% or 75%. I'm mostly looking at the cost, and if the potential gain is at least double digits. Then I'm looking _again_ at the potential cost, then again, then checking the dosage three times and doing a search to see if veterinarian pills are usually of much worse quality. Because it's not the precise probability of Ivermectin working that's instrumental here. Only that it has a probability high enough to be worth the bother: after that, it's all focus on the downside. And yeah, turns out the downside is small. Not that any of that matters with tribal posturing, of course. "Ivermectin" = "Antivaxer" = "Trumpist" = "Evil" is a much much shorter association for our brains to make.
- vb6sp6 5y ago
  > It doesn't matter in the long run It might matter to those out there that read this and then try ivermectin. And maybe they take a little too much. I think you could make a pretty compelling argument that these types of statements can be really harmful.
  - radu_floricica 5y ago
    Taking a 10x dose of aspirin is harmful. And god have mercy on your soul if you take too much tylenol - it's a very ugly death. But neither of them is taboo. Try asking in any forum if horse ivermectin is safe for humans. I dare you.
    - vb6sp6 5y ago
      The drug manufacturer says not to take it. That's good enough for me. And appealing to the higher power of random forum users is peak stupidity imo

I didn't take dog pills and also didn't get COVID. Anecdotes are fun.

by vb6sp6 5y ago

I didn't take dog pills and also didn't get COVID. Anecdotes are fun.

Or maybe I DID get Covid? Or maybe.... I was a dog all along?! Sorry about that. But I do want to push on a point, mostly because I have a good quote: "It's possible to make mistakes and still lose. That's not a weakness, it's life". There is a disconnect between being right on the bets you make, and winning. In this case I could be wrong on ivermectin helping. It doesn't matter in the long run, because what matters is making decent enough bets (and of course, not being unlucky). Why "decent enough"? Because satisficing vs optimizing. I don't particularly care if the chance that ivermectin helps is 25% or 75%. I'm mostly looking at the cost, and if the potential gain is at least double digits. Then I'm looking _again_ at the potential cost, then again, then checking the dosage three times and doing a search to see if veterinarian pills are usually of much worse quality. Because it's not the precise probability of Ivermectin working that's instrumental here. Only that it has a probability high enough to be worth the bother: after that, it's all focus on the downside. And yeah, turns out the downside is small. Not that any of that matters with tribal posturing, of course. "Ivermectin" = "Antivaxer" = "Trumpist" = "Evil" is a much much shorter association for our brains to make.

vb6sp6 5y ago
> It doesn't matter in the long run It might matter to those out there that read this and then try ivermectin. And maybe they take a little too much. I think you could make a pretty compelling argument that these types of statements can be really harmful.
- radu_floricica 5y ago
  Taking a 10x dose of aspirin is harmful. And god have mercy on your soul if you take too much tylenol - it's a very ugly death. But neither of them is taboo. Try asking in any forum if horse ivermectin is safe for humans. I dare you.
  - vb6sp6 5y ago
    The drug manufacturer says not to take it. That's good enough for me. And appealing to the higher power of random forum users is peak stupidity imo