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If your symptoms are milder and fought off by your body quicker it certainly seems like, intuitively, you’d spread the virus less.

by codyb 5y ago

dnautics 5y ago
Or if they're so mild you don't think you have a cold, you might go out and spread it more. This would be a genius evolutionary play by the virus -- have such mild symptoms that most healthy people don't even know they have it and spread it like crazy. Ok wow downvoted. Well, if this actually happens, I will be sure to link back to this downvoted claim. Be careful, I have been right about "out of left field" events in the past that I've recorded on hn (such as failure of the Boeing starliner https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21839565 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21839565) and in this situation I do have PhD training in biology, so this wasn't one point at least reasonably close to my wheelhouse
- tomrod 5y ago
  > Or if they're so mild you don't think you have a cold, you might go out and spread it more. Yes, Jevon's paradox could exist in this instance. > This would be a genius evolutionary play by the virus It's not sentient. It's simply filling niches. It would be a net benefit if, in US culture, we normalized health being a priority (including taking time to recover and not spread to others, whether a cold or flu or COVID-19). > Ok wow downvoted. From the guidelines: >>> Be kind. Don't be snarky. Have curious conversation; don't cross-examine. Please don't fulminate. Please don't sneer, including at the rest of the community. I've noticed here and, if I recall correctly, in other COVID-19 threads that sea-lioning comments tend to be downvoted. I expect this is because people are tired of science denialism, whether it is couched as "just speculating" or as "just asking questions."
  - dnautics 5y ago
    What science denialism? I had a previous life as a working PhD in the life sciences. Honestly the crazy thing to me is just how much the mainstream discourse/policy on covid is itself science denial.

If your symptoms are milder and fought off by your body quicker it certainly seems like, intuitively, you’d spread the virus less.

by codyb 5y ago

If your symptoms are milder and fought off by your body quicker it certainly seems like, intuitively, you’d spread the virus less.

dnautics 5y ago

Or if they're so mild you don't think you have a cold, you might go out and spread it more. This would be a genius evolutionary play by the virus -- have such mild symptoms that most healthy people don't even know they have it and spread it like crazy. Ok wow downvoted. Well, if this actually happens, I will be sure to link back to this downvoted claim. Be careful, I have been right about "out of left field" events in the past that I've recorded on hn (such as failure of the Boeing starliner https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21839565 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21839565) and in this situation I do have PhD training in biology, so this wasn't one point at least reasonably close to my wheelhouse

tomrod 5y ago
> Or if they're so mild you don't think you have a cold, you might go out and spread it more. Yes, Jevon's paradox could exist in this instance. > This would be a genius evolutionary play by the virus It's not sentient. It's simply filling niches. It would be a net benefit if, in US culture, we normalized health being a priority (including taking time to recover and not spread to others, whether a cold or flu or COVID-19). > Ok wow downvoted. From the guidelines: >>> Be kind. Don't be snarky. Have curious conversation; don't cross-examine. Please don't fulminate. Please don't sneer, including at the rest of the community. I've noticed here and, if I recall correctly, in other COVID-19 threads that sea-lioning comments tend to be downvoted. I expect this is because people are tired of science denialism, whether it is couched as "just speculating" or as "just asking questions."
- dnautics 5y ago
  What science denialism? I had a previous life as a working PhD in the life sciences. Honestly the crazy thing to me is just how much the mainstream discourse/policy on covid is itself science denial.