Hacker News Reader

Comment by specialist | Hacker News Reader

Starts by challenging social distancing & quarantine mandates, because no one had first done a cost benefit analysis. What? Who is this guy?

"Nick Hudson on PANDA:

Panda started off as a conversation, really. A group of four friends, professionals – an economist, a doctor, a lawyer and a little actuary. What we shared was an observation that the data and the facts – the reality – of Coronavirus was far away from what the media and public health institutions were presenting to the world. We saw in that problem the seeds of a great tragedy."

Hard pass.

View on HN

That was the session opener for the conference, setting the stage. The conference itself (linked from the channel page) has presentations from scientists backing up the claims he makes there.

The first lecture in the session for example is from Dr Clare Craig, an epidemiologist, discussing how the virus actually spreads, and presents evidence for the remark you highlighted about social distancing and quarantine [1].

As I said in other comments here, rejecting arguments based on (lack of) credentials is not constructive. I encourage everyone to open their mind and engage with what people have to say. You can always disagree with them and you're then at least more familiar with the arguments of the other side. I am always trying to find a way to justify the behaviour of governments with regards to COVID-19 - it would sure as heck make my life easier right now to fall in line - and I do this by reading and hearing the arguments in favour of restrictions and mandates from all corners.

[1] https://youtube.com/watch?v=veSfwMZhZRA

I don't know how, but that one was even worse. Total jumble.

Concern trolling the best available science about coronavirus transmission, comparing it to unrelated diseases, cherry picking random data points...

Despicable.

Quickly searching... Holy shit. Dr Craig argues that lockdowns don't reduce transmission, COVID is over reported, that there was no second wave.

https://www.covidfaq.co/Clare-Craig-1f229f215ed640d495bda975...

Ok. We're done.

I won't be reading or responding to any more of your posts.

Well, apparently you won't read this but thanks nonetheless for engaging with the arguments from the supposed "other side" further than most people do. I still respectfully disagree, and hope you find time to reexamine the claims being made here and elsewhere. Rejecting claims out of hand is not the way we get out of this mess.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com