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My response isn’t hand-wavy, it’s pretty categorical: the problem is that people can’t deal with uncertainty, and fill in too many blanks in their minds with ov
by epgui 5y ago
My response isn’t hand-wavy, it’s pretty categorical: the problem is that people can’t deal with uncertainty, and fill in too many blanks in their minds with over-simplistic assumptions. If you’re looking for a full picture of certainty about the future, that’s not exactly what science will give you.
- throwoutway 5y ago> the problem is that people can’t deal with uncertainty, and fill in too many blanks in their minds with over-simplistic assumptions. No, the problem is that this was communicated in imperfect ways to the public (as you said yourself), who then filled in the gaps themselves. Risk communication is complicated and the govt, the experts, and the media all failed the public here.
- epgui 5y agoI don't disagree that there were a lot of communication issues, but I think many people don't appreciate just how difficult public health communications is. It literally does not matter how right you are or well you communicate something: there will always be groups of people who misinterpret what you say, don't understand what you say, or weaponize what you say for political purposes.