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The point of science is to determine what is true. The entire idea of scientific research relies on the premise that objective truth exists, that causes cause e
by geofft 5y ago
The point of science is to determine what is true. The entire idea of scientific research relies on the premise that objective truth exists, that causes cause effects, that if a process works a certain way today that it works that way tomorrow.
The natural result is that you get two diametrically opposed narratives - truth and falsehood. And it is certainly not the case that simply because the two narratives are opposed that they are of equal merit. Your job is to pick the truth.
The truth is not where it is because of anyone's political beliefs. The truth is where it is because it is true. Your political beliefs can (and should) change to follow the truth. Or you can compromise between truth and falsehood, and end up at falsehood.
I am certainly not claiming that either "tribe" has been perfect at sticking with truth - but it's clear that the truth is not in the middle. Where both "tribes" have erred and killed, it has been when they were not extreme enough in the pursuit of truth and instead incentivized by political expedience.
- gfodor 5y agoBroadly speaking, a wide variety of people have proven themselves incapable of evolving in light of the evolution of scientific evidence. Morons in California masking children outside in 90 degree weather are just as guilty of this as those who claim the vaccines are poison. The fact that we have now put ourselves in a position where we have to defer to idiotic bureaucrats in government to point us at what we should do and who we should be angry at for disobeying implies bad times are ahead.
- geofft 5y agoI don't think I agree with you about the scientific evidence of those two positions. Masking children outside in 90-degree weather (especially with cloth masks instead of medical ones) may be ineffective, but it is harmless, modulo speculation about children's need to recognize faces etc. It doesn't impact breathing capacity or anything, and it certainly doesn't put you at more risk of getting the virus. Claims that the vaccines are poison are not only actively wrong but actively dangerous. Adopting this position, i.e., refusing to get the vaccine, puts you at risk. I understand a whole lot of people are offended by people wearing masks outside. That's fine! It's a free country, you can be offended by whatever you want. But the claim that it is contraindicated by science just as much as the anti-vax position is ludicrous.
- JohnWhigham 5y agoLet's take a step back and start with this: I've noticed many people refusing to get the vaccine because pharmaceutical companies legally cannot be held liable for any side effects that the vaccines cause. Can you not see how many people may not like this? Especially with some of these companies being directly responsible for the opioid crisis going on right now and not receiving due justice? Telling people "doesn't matter, get the jab, trust in Science" isn't a solution to this.
- angelzen 5y agoIn uncharted territory, one can believe that vaccines are likely to make a positive contribution and also opt-out from using the vaccine until more data is collected. It's called "precautionary principle". Generally speaking the gap between conservative and liberal vaccine uptake can be more charitably explained by the observation that conservative people score less on the big five Openness scale. No need to turn it into a partisan fight. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precautionary_principle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precautionary_principle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Openness_to_experience https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Openness_to_experience https://www.economist.com/democracy-in-america/2012/05/21/the-big-sort https://www.economist.com/democracy-in-america/2012/05/21/th...
- gfodor 5y agoYou can't actually believe that running around outside in 90 degree weather as a young child with or without a face mask has no material difference in potential harm. Have you actually ever worn a mask in the heat doing physical activity?
- geofft 5y agoYes. I've been doing so all week (I just bought a new bicycle, and I wear a mask outside because it offends people and I find it funny), and I have exercised-induced asthma and sweat/overheat very easily. It's been fine. Masks don't impact your body's ability or inability to dissipate heat. The heat is uncomfortable; the mask doesn't matter. Have you tried it? In any case, my argument is not that it has no potential harm - just that it's ludicrous to say it's as potentially harmful as not getting the vaccine.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]