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Old 10-03-2021, 05:14 PM
 
Location: Rural Wisconsin
19,507 posts, read 9,043,989 times
Reputation: 37674

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The following link gives, I think, some good advice regarding trying to figure out what is true from what is not, or might not, be true when wading through so much conflicting information: https://www.geertvandenbossche.org/p...from-the-chaff Here are the ten points summarized and/or shortened from this link, my italics: (Note: when quoted directly, I put quotation marks; otherwise, it is my summary of what was stated. Also note that many quotes are just the "highlight" of each point.)

1. "Don’t pay as much attention to the opinion of silo-thinkers as you do to opinions from experts capable of drawing from the following fields: Immunology, Vaccinology, Virology, Evolutionary Epidemiology."

2. Don’t pay too much attention to the opinions of ‘experts' who are/were media hogs because they "can't be a spotlight hog and do all the hard work required to analyze and digest the current evolution of this pandemic, not just in their small place, but also globally."

3. "Don’t pay any attention to views, opinions from experts who have a conflict of interest and whose viewpoints may, therefore, be affected by elements that are not purely science-driven. Conflict of interests can easily be uncovered: Refusal of disclosure is the key to everything."

4. "Ignore experts who fiercely refuse to revisit their opinions for fear of shame or losing face. [snip] There is no better way to find peace of mind than to be honest about the things you have been wrong about. This also applies to experts who simply decline providing answers to critical scientific questions. [snip] Experts who think they can afford to turn away their head from scientific questions and criticism should not be granted much credibility. The same applies to scientific information divulged by experts who refuse to engage in an open scientific debate."

5. "Do your own research to find out about people’s background and the veracity of the messages they are conveying."

6. "Do ignore fact checkers. It's obvious that their scientific illiteracy does not allow them to even understand the basics of the dynamics of this pandemic, let alone to validate what experts are saying. [snip]"

7. "Don’t waste your time paying attention to the rhetoric of experts, politicians or any other person who tends to push some mainstream judgements about vaccinated as opposed to nonvaccinated people. "

8. "Don’t engage with people who support conspiracy theories. These theories are complex, endless, uncertain, not as waterproof as people may try to make you believe and, most importantly... will prevent you from sleeping at night. What the science tells you is already complex and worrisome enough to take this pandemic very seriously."
Added from #10 below: "Don’t lean towards voices preaching inevitable doomsday scenarios. Use common sense."

9. "Look at trustworthy sources and information as a vaccine skeptic, but not as an anti-vaxxer. It’s always good to not only have an open but also critical mind."

10. "Be prepared to get back to a healthier lifestyle, healthier nutrition and a higher level of social, logistic and infrastructural independence."


END EXCERPTS

Last edited by katharsis; 10-03-2021 at 06:02 PM..
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Old 10-03-2021, 05:43 PM
 
18,808 posts, read 27,254,775 times
Reputation: 20172
11. Do all of the above. Sit and do nothing. Wait, until they come and get you or, turn your life into complete misery.
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Old 10-03-2021, 06:01 PM
 
Location: Rural Wisconsin
19,507 posts, read 9,043,989 times
Reputation: 37674
Quote:
Originally Posted by ukrkoz View Post
11. Do all of the above. Sit and do nothing. Wait, until they come and get you or, turn your life into complete misery.
Seriously -- do you have any ideas what the average person can do other than to continue to follow their own judgment and TRY to educate others that they might have been misinformed?
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Old 10-03-2021, 06:02 PM
 
15,488 posts, read 15,465,847 times
Reputation: 21786
That may be interesting, but I'll start by point out that he seems to be a veterinarian. Not a virologist, not an epidemiologist, not even an internist. His special training is in horses.

And although he carefully qualifies his statements, I tend to be suspicious of anyone telling me not to trust experts or fact-checkers.
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Old 10-03-2021, 06:04 PM
 
18,488 posts, read 15,450,513 times
Reputation: 16144
Quote:
Originally Posted by katharsis View Post
The following link gives, I think, some good advice regarding trying to figure out what is true from what is not, or might not, be true when wading through so much conflicting information: https://www.geertvandenbossche.org/p...from-the-chaff Here are the ten points summarized and/or shortened from this link, my italics: (Note: when quoted directly, I put quotation marks; otherwise, it is my summary of what was stated. Also note that many quotes are just the "highlight" of each point.)

1. "Don’t pay as much attention to the opinion of silo-thinkers as you do to opinions from experts capable of drawing from the following fields: Immunology, Vaccinology, Virology, Evolutionary Epidemiology."

2. Don’t pay too much attention to the opinions of ‘experts' who are/were media hogs because they "can't be a spotlight hog and do all the hard work required to analyze and digest the current evolution of this pandemic, not just in their small place, but also globally."

3. "Don’t pay any attention to views, opinions from experts who have a conflict of interest and whose viewpoints may, therefore, be affected by elements that are not purely science-driven. Conflict of interests can easily be uncovered: Refusal of disclosure is the key to everything."

4. "Ignore experts who fiercely refuse to revisit their opinions for fear of shame or losing face. [snip] There is no better way to find peace of mind than to be honest about the things you have been wrong about. This also applies to experts who simply decline providing answers to critical scientific questions. [snip] Experts who think they can afford to turn away their head from scientific questions and criticism should not be granted much credibility. The same applies to scientific information divulged by experts who refuse to engage in an open scientific debate."

5. "Do your own research to find out about people’s background and the veracity of the messages they are conveying."

6. "Do ignore fact checkers. It's obvious that their scientific illiteracy does not allow them to even understand the basics of the dynamics of this pandemic, let alone to validate what experts are saying. [snip]"

7. "Don’t waste your time paying attention to the rhetoric of experts, politicians or any other person who tends to push some mainstream judgements about vaccinated as opposed to nonvaccinated people. "

8. "Don’t engage with people who support conspiracy theories. These theories are complex, endless, uncertain, not as waterproof as people may try to make you believe and, most importantly... will prevent you from sleeping at night. What the science tells you is already complex and worrisome enough to take this pandemic very seriously."
Added from #10 below: "Don’t lean towards voices preaching inevitable doomsday scenarios. Use common sense."

9. "Look at trustworthy sources and information as a vaccine skeptic, but not as an anti-vaxxer. It’s always good to not only have an open but also critical mind."

10. "Be prepared to get back to a healthier lifestyle, healthier nutrition and a higher level of social, logistic and infrastructural independence."


END EXCERPTS
They left out the most important of all:

Learn how to reason with statistics and probability. If you don't do this, you will never have a reliable way of knowing what concerns are overblown and what concerns are not.
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Old 10-03-2021, 06:07 PM
 
Location: Rural Wisconsin
19,507 posts, read 9,043,989 times
Reputation: 37674
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cida View Post
That may be interesting, but I'll start by point out that he seems to be a veterinarian. Not a virologist, not an epidemiologist, not even an internist. His special training is in horses.

And although he carefully qualifies his statements, I tend to be suspicious of anyone telling me not to trust experts or fact-checkers.
Here is his CV:

https://37b32f5a-6ed9-4d6d-b3e1-5ec6...502752684f.pdf

YES, he is a veterinarian, but he has done post-doctoral work in other fields. (Look under "Continuing Education".)
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