Very well said with wisdom and tact. We are no different now. When officials rage about conspiracy theories and misinformation without giving clear, rational scientific reasons, I know that many will die from this pattern of obfuscation. I reminds me in particular of the beginning of The Great War. Millions died from the recalcitrance of national leaders. Those who administered the end of the war were worse than the aristocrats they replaced because they set in play in the name globalization not a century of global peace and prosperity but the exploitation of people and nations through the promise of it. So, today we have people who are dying suddenly, in the prime of life, on the ball field, at the lecture stand, in the aisles of the marketplace, and no autopsies can be performed, no explanations given, and therefore no pattern of decision making based on faulty mental models allowed to be discussed. The John Snows of our time are talking to us, if we will only listen.
Yes Ed, we owe a lot to the John Snows. But oh what resilience and dogged determination they need in the face of a disbelieving public or closed-rank academy.
nice phrase Rebecca: 'hold current evidence loosely'. Reminds me of how motorbike riders are instructed to 'hold the bars loosely'. When you grip too tight you tense up. and when you tense up, dumb stuff happens. And dumb stuff can become a disaster in an instant. Same might be true in life. When you hold an idea too tight ... dumb stuff happens. Sclerosis takes hold
Very well said with wisdom and tact. We are no different now. When officials rage about conspiracy theories and misinformation without giving clear, rational scientific reasons, I know that many will die from this pattern of obfuscation. I reminds me in particular of the beginning of The Great War. Millions died from the recalcitrance of national leaders. Those who administered the end of the war were worse than the aristocrats they replaced because they set in play in the name globalization not a century of global peace and prosperity but the exploitation of people and nations through the promise of it. So, today we have people who are dying suddenly, in the prime of life, on the ball field, at the lecture stand, in the aisles of the marketplace, and no autopsies can be performed, no explanations given, and therefore no pattern of decision making based on faulty mental models allowed to be discussed. The John Snows of our time are talking to us, if we will only listen.
Yes Ed, we owe a lot to the John Snows. But oh what resilience and dogged determination they need in the face of a disbelieving public or closed-rank academy.
Very true
A fabulous article, Anthony, not just for your colourful writing but the important reminder to hold current evidence loosely.
nice phrase Rebecca: 'hold current evidence loosely'. Reminds me of how motorbike riders are instructed to 'hold the bars loosely'. When you grip too tight you tense up. and when you tense up, dumb stuff happens. And dumb stuff can become a disaster in an instant. Same might be true in life. When you hold an idea too tight ... dumb stuff happens. Sclerosis takes hold