6 ms·

What about other regular illnesses, don't they also leave some sort of impact on your body at the end of the day? Occam's razor would suggest that COVID is jus

What about other regular illnesses, don't they also leave some sort of impact on your body at the end of the day? Occam's razor would suggest that COVID is just like other illnesses, for the most part, except for being an outlier in some areas (virality, severe symptoms).

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maxbond 3y ago
I think you're thinking of the null hypothesis. Occam's razor would prescribe determining the number of assumptions made by each explanation and preferring the one with fewer. You're introducing a new assumption here, and I don't see how it helps us better understand the evidence. "COVID is more severe than typical viral infections, and so leads to unusual outcomes" is a pretty simple explanation, well supported by the observations you yourself made that it is more contagious and has more severe symptoms than many others.
- s1artibartfast 3y ago
  I think you are both saying the same or compatible ideas.
- AYBABTME 3y ago
  Well I mean that in the realm of more severe infections, it's probably average and not some super mutant alien illness. In that sense I apply Occam's razor: it's probably bad to a similar degree as other bad diseases of the same type, it's probably not a radical unprecedented thing from an alternate dimension (assuming no lab leak hypothesis). And from my non expert historical perspective, it sure seems to fit that profile.
  - s1artibartfast 3y ago
    Even if it is from a lab, it is still a virus and not some radical new physics or biology. We know that viruses harm people and have long-lasting consequences.
  - stevenhuang 3y ago
    This is my understanding of the issue as well--that viruses in general can have wide ranging affects depending on the person, and the symptoms of LC are not unique. So what's notable might not be that Long Covid is a thing, but that due to how prevalent it was, a massive amount of people were subject to the ~0.1% (or whatever probability) tail risk that a given viral load would very negatively impact their body (nerve damage, heart damage, etc), much like any other virus would.
s1artibartfast 3y ago
The short answer is yes. Other viral infections can leave long lasting damage and a wide array of symtoms ranging from psycological to diabetes. This is well documented. Occams razor would expect to see some of the same results with COVID.

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maxbond 3y ago

I think you're thinking of the null hypothesis. Occam's razor would prescribe determining the number of assumptions made by each explanation and preferring the one with fewer. You're introducing a new assumption here, and I don't see how it helps us better understand the evidence. "COVID is more severe than typical viral infections, and so leads to unusual outcomes" is a pretty simple explanation, well supported by the observations you yourself made that it is more contagious and has more severe symptoms than many others.

s1artibartfast 3y ago
I think you are both saying the same or compatible ideas.
AYBABTME 3y ago
Well I mean that in the realm of more severe infections, it's probably average and not some super mutant alien illness. In that sense I apply Occam's razor: it's probably bad to a similar degree as other bad diseases of the same type, it's probably not a radical unprecedented thing from an alternate dimension (assuming no lab leak hypothesis). And from my non expert historical perspective, it sure seems to fit that profile.
- s1artibartfast 3y ago
  Even if it is from a lab, it is still a virus and not some radical new physics or biology. We know that viruses harm people and have long-lasting consequences.
- stevenhuang 3y ago
  This is my understanding of the issue as well--that viruses in general can have wide ranging affects depending on the person, and the symptoms of LC are not unique. So what's notable might not be that Long Covid is a thing, but that due to how prevalent it was, a massive amount of people were subject to the ~0.1% (or whatever probability) tail risk that a given viral load would very negatively impact their body (nerve damage, heart damage, etc), much like any other virus would.

s1artibartfast 3y ago

The short answer is yes. Other viral infections can leave long lasting damage and a wide array of symtoms ranging from psycological to diabetes. This is well documented. Occams razor would expect to see some of the same results with COVID.