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This and other unrelated approaches with similar end goals are why I don't give much credence to the standard issue sky is falling speeches regarding the end of
by reasonattlm 11y ago
This and other unrelated approaches with similar end goals are why I don't give much credence to the standard issue sky is falling speeches regarding the end of effective antibiotics. Too many people can't look forward, think in terms of a stasis of present resources and technologies, and can't see the possibilities for progress. In this case the research community will soon enough shift to approaches that bacteria simply can't evolve resistance to because they selectively target mechanisms and structures that are vital. That's a theme in cancer research as well these days.
- TeMPOraL 11y agoScientific and technological progress is inherently unpredictable, so betting on a miraculous discovery coming just in time to save your sorry ass is at best an unwise course of action. The "sky is falling" speeches are meant to direct public attention (and funding) to the research that can prevent the doomsday scenario, and also to discourage people from doing asinine things (like abuse of antibiotics).
- deciplex 11y agoIs there a name for cognitive bias where extremely unfavorable events like the end of antibiotics, or a permanent technological dark age, or the extinction of the human race, are dismissed a priori with no justification? Like, something so bad that obviously someone would do something about it, without showing that someone really would or, indeed, whether someone even could. Somehow, this cognitive bias never manifests when we're talking about government overreach, in which All Laws I Don't Like Eventually Lead To Totalitarianism - but antibiotic resistance? Apparently no big deal.