3 ms·

The risk was not minor -- COVID remains a leading cause of death in most countries. https://www.thinkglobalhealth.org/article/just-how-do-deaths-due-covid-19-st

The risk was not minor -- COVID remains a leading cause of death in most countries. https://www.thinkglobalhealth.org/article/just-how-do-deaths-due-covid-19-stack https://www.thinkglobalhealth.org/article/just-how-do-deaths... It is now, thanks to swift and absurdly successful mRNA vaccine research, a minor risk to you.

nradov 4y ago
The mRNA vaccines were a wonderful innovation but the scientific data clearly shows that even before vaccines arrived the risk to me (and the vast majority of other people) was always minor. There was certainly never any valid justification for the cruel and destructive policies imposed by irrational authoritarians such as lockdowns, school closures, and mandates. https://nypost.com/2023/02/27/10-myths-told-by-covid-experts-now-debunked/ https://nypost.com/2023/02/27/10-myths-told-by-covid-experts... Humans in general lack the ability to objectively judge risks, but once they become habituated to a particular risk it kind of fades into the background and they stop worrying about it. The same thing will happen with LLMs once the hype dies down and people realize that they are merely productivity enhancing tools which can be used by humans for both good and evil. When the printing press was first invented some authority figures panicked and tried to suppress that disruptive new technology which allowed for much greater productivity than writing by hand, but ultimately their concerns proved to be irrelevant.
- 1attice 4y ago
  I don't dispute your broader point about humans and novel risk, I dispute that COVID is a valid example of this. In fact, I rather think we didn't react swiftly or strongly enough. Masks, in particular, should have been mandated (at specific levels of quality, such as N95 or, failing that, KN95) and distributed by the state. https://www.twincities.com/2023/03/16/zeynep-tufekci-why-the-science-is-clear-that-masks-help/ https://www.twincities.com/2023/03/16/zeynep-tufekci-why-the... There was an era wherein liberals were reliably less science-based. For example, the absurd fuss over GMO foods, or nuclear power. These days, for whatever reason, it feels like our conservative colleagues are the ones who favour gut instincts over evidence-based reasoning. I hope this trend reverses, I've missed having a stimulating intellectual adversary.
  - nradov 4y ago
    The actual science never supported mask mandates. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD006207.pub6 https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD006207.pub6 When you don't know the proper course of action it's better to gather more data instead of taking swift but wrong actions.
    - 1attice 4y ago
      The link I provided actually responds to the link you provided in response. Did you read it?
      - nradov 4y ago
        I read it but it was not a valid response.
        1attice 4y ago
        Elaborate.
        1attice 4y ago
        That's what I thought.

nradov 4y ago

The mRNA vaccines were a wonderful innovation but the scientific data clearly shows that even before vaccines arrived the risk to me (and the vast majority of other people) was always minor. There was certainly never any valid justification for the cruel and destructive policies imposed by irrational authoritarians such as lockdowns, school closures, and mandates. https://nypost.com/2023/02/27/10-myths-told-by-covid-experts-now-debunked/ https://nypost.com/2023/02/27/10-myths-told-by-covid-experts... Humans in general lack the ability to objectively judge risks, but once they become habituated to a particular risk it kind of fades into the background and they stop worrying about it. The same thing will happen with LLMs once the hype dies down and people realize that they are merely productivity enhancing tools which can be used by humans for both good and evil. When the printing press was first invented some authority figures panicked and tried to suppress that disruptive new technology which allowed for much greater productivity than writing by hand, but ultimately their concerns proved to be irrelevant.

1attice 4y ago
I don't dispute your broader point about humans and novel risk, I dispute that COVID is a valid example of this. In fact, I rather think we didn't react swiftly or strongly enough. Masks, in particular, should have been mandated (at specific levels of quality, such as N95 or, failing that, KN95) and distributed by the state. https://www.twincities.com/2023/03/16/zeynep-tufekci-why-the-science-is-clear-that-masks-help/ https://www.twincities.com/2023/03/16/zeynep-tufekci-why-the... There was an era wherein liberals were reliably less science-based. For example, the absurd fuss over GMO foods, or nuclear power. These days, for whatever reason, it feels like our conservative colleagues are the ones who favour gut instincts over evidence-based reasoning. I hope this trend reverses, I've missed having a stimulating intellectual adversary.
- nradov 4y ago
  The actual science never supported mask mandates. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD006207.pub6 https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD006207.pub6 When you don't know the proper course of action it's better to gather more data instead of taking swift but wrong actions.
  - 1attice 4y ago
    The link I provided actually responds to the link you provided in response. Did you read it?
    - nradov 4y ago
      I read it but it was not a valid response.
      - 1attice 4y ago
        Elaborate.
        1attice 4y ago
        That's what I thought.