just when you thought you knew what stupid was

[shooterdon]

We cannot develop a 100% effective flu vaccine. We have never been able to develop a vaccine for the common cold. But we are going to have a vaccine in a few months for a virus that started less than a year ago and we do not totally understand.

Isn’t science amazing? Even more amazing are the fools that buy into the propaganda.

 

[rswyan]

I will respect and accept the moving target of science as it battles to understand a new disease far more than a herd of jacklegs with no training, experience or relevant education that parrot Facebook memes and pretend to know all.

 

[RSR]

I hear what you’re saying and respect the research you are doing, but the public is pretty skeptical of scientists at this point. The information changes constantly, which makes us raise an eyebrow when you say something is “fact”. We heard Fauci say masks don’t work. Then weeks later say you must wear a mask to protect yourself. Oh wait, no to protect others. Now studies are coming out (contrary to what you are saying) stating that homemade masks have marginal effect. Now Fauci is saying that we should all be wearing a face shield. To top
It off, we were initially told that there was upwards of a 5% death rate. Now it’s around .05%. Way less than the flu. It starts to feel like a lot of hype. And statements that were “factual” just a couple weeks ago are being superseded by new, contradicting “facts” ad nauseum. As a scientist, you know darn well that “peer reviewed” doesn’t mean ironclad, especially not on a 6mo< timetable. It simply means “good enough”, for now.

A couple of comments:

1) Science is a progression of understanding. I understand how that is frustrating for someone that wants answers as quickly as possible, and so it seems like someone is "wrong" or "lying", because they seem to change what they are saying. Actually, adapting viewpoints and understanding based on facts and evidence is a hallmark of a good scientist.

2) Be VERY skeptical of what you read in the media. Go to the source and read the actual journal article. I cannot count the number of times I have read articles that are a complete and blatant misrepresentation of the study to serve the purpose of supporting a narrative. According to Fox News masks serve no purpose, and COVID-19 amounts to a mild nuisance that might give you a cough for a day. According to CNN, COVID-19 is going to kill everyone. The truth lies in the middle. Eschew the media with a political agenda and look up and read the journal article they cite.

There is a class that is taught each year at my University that makes students find a popular media article about a biomechanics topic (what the course is focused on) and then read the journal article it is summarizing and identify all of the errors, misrepresentations, etc. Even when there is no political bias present for a topic like this, the exercise is eye-opening for the students.

 

[Diggin It]

Sigh...any self respecting trekkie knows you wouldn't use Nog as an example of a profit hungry Ferengi. Quark would be a much better example.

Hey, they all look alike to me.

Must be the ears.

The only Nog I know is Egg.

 

[Jack Murdock]

Thanks for what you do. I will follow the science

 

[deezler]

RSR, great posts and thank you for your work to spread actual knowledge. It is amazing how many folks actively try to avoid becoming educated, and prefer rather to stick with bias and assumption.

My family believes in science. My buddies came by for a socially distanced bonfire last night, and it was reassuring to find that they all still believe in science too. We might not be as loud as the deniers and skeptics, but there are still a lot of us out there.

 

[Gem99ultra]

Here... watch this, do an experiment in your backyard, and you'll be good to go...

Good explanation.

My oh my, how I miss Carl Sagan.

 

[/pine]

Again, you are frankly wrong, and your spread of misinformation is damaging.

As I said in my post, masks do block droplet expiration (not "may" or "can".)

This is not me spouting off about something because I read an article somewhere. I have a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from a top 5 graduate program in the nation, with an emohasis on fluid mechanics - you know, how things move in the air. I have 15+ years performing research related to the aerodynamics of speech. I am funded by the National Science Foundation to perform research on airborne transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus due to speech.

So no, I am not copying something I read from from other sources. I am stating the definitive findings of the research community and myself and my colleagues that are spending tireless hours researching these issues to provide effective guidelines and policies to protect public health.

So, excuse me if I react poorly when someone glibly and ignorantly claims that there is science out there that proves otherwise. 1) There isn't. 2) Your ignorance and denial on the matter literally puts people's lives at risk.

As I said earlier. You are correct that masks don't stop 100% of droplets. However, claiming that as a reason to forego mask usage is incredibly naive. Home made face coverings, depending on material and type, are anywhere from 20% - 80% effective at stopping droplet expiration. When you're trying to control a pandemic, those improvements make a huge difference, and drastically reduce infection risk. As previously mentioned, face coverings aren't just about trapping droplets. They also slow down the velocity of the droplets leaving the mouth, which contains their spread as well.

As I said earlier, I'd be happy to share with you scientific, peer-reviewed studies that demonstrate the science of how and why face coverings work.

Your biased opinions are only that...like I said there is lots of contradicting data out there whether you want to believe it or not...
FYI...I've never told anyone not to wear a mask...all I've said is that there is scientific data out there that contradicts other scientific data...
I am not "spreading misinformation" but YOU are exaggerating what is proven and what is not...

AGAIN...every credible source that advocates wearing masks also state that distancing is a major factor in their effectiveness...even the mask zealots do not claim them to be foolproof...

 

[ruffdog]

Thanks for what you do. I will follow the science

I agree. I believe that people that discredit science prefer alternative unsubstantiated truths.

 

[Diggin It]

Science is not an exact science. Different groups of scientists studying exactly the same information can come to different conclusions and theories. How long has the common cold been studied? How many billions of dollars? How about cancer? If science were exact, wouldn't we have cures for those now? How many different forecasts are published by Meteorologists studying exactly the same data? They can't even say for certain if it will rain at any given point within the current day.

Science is like medicine. When they get it right, they won't have to practice any more.