Posted on 05/27/2021 9:15:41 AM PDT by CheshireTheCat
MIT and Wellesley College data scientists have published a paper that undercuts the prevailing media portrayal of skeptics of government COVID-19 policies as ignorant and unscientific, even while warning that their emphasis on "rationality and autonomy" can be put to "horrifying ends."
Skeptics of government COVID-19 mitigation methods, such as mask mandates, "often reveal themselves to be more sophisticated in their understanding of how scientific knowledge is socially constructed than their ideological adversaries," the researchers acknowledge
However, their skepticism, based on their own analysis of scientific data and unwillingness to defer to a "paternalistic, condescending elite," also might embolden the kind of people who attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, they warn.
Based on analysis of half a million "data visualization" tweets and anti-mask Facebook groups from March-September 2020, the paper is drawing attention from COVID policy skeptics for portraying them reasonably well.
Ethical Skeptic, one of the Twitter accounts described as an "anchor" for anti-mask advocates, told Just the News the researchers were "very gracious towards our sector … especially given the social pressure they could face."
The authors recognized that "we were well aware of the practices and philosophical tenets of science," said the user, who calls himself a former naval intelligence officer, market consultant and scientific research lab operator.
He didn't mind the reference to January 6 rioters. Ethical Skeptic said he was frequently warned that "my analysis was being touted far and wide by far right ideologues," not that it was incorrect....
(Excerpt) Read more at justthenews.com ...
'Empirically false' that anti-maskers are 'data-illiterate'
This is straight Marxist propaganda, based on the recommendations of that MD from Baylor on how to overcome "vaccine resistance". (Note that the foul slimebag implicitly frames the issue as "the jabs are necessary and harmless" from the beginning, even though both of those are bald faced lies.)
= = = = =
One campaign implies that it could turn people into monkeys.
This builds on a longer, well-documented history of Russia-sponsored disinformation, presumably to destabilize the United States and other democratic countries. The administration of US President Joe Biden has warned Russian media groups to halt their anti-vaccine aggression
Many far-right extremist groups that spread false information about last year’s US presidential election are doing the same about vaccines.
= = = = = = = = = = = =
This is the call for a totalitarian purge, using the full force of the US government, based on baldface lies.
"RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA." "FAR RIGHT EXTREMIST GROUPS THAT SPREAD FALSE INFORMATION."
They ALWAYS go back to the same playbook.
and his solution is
"Efforts must expand into the realm of cyber security, law enforcement, public education and international relations. A high-level inter-agency task force reporting to the UN secretary-general could assess the full impact of anti-vaccine aggression, and propose tough, balanced measures. The task force should include experts who have tackled complex global threats such as terrorism, cyber attacks and nuclear armament, because anti-science is now approaching similar levels of peril."
= = = = = =
Other quotes from the article:
1."Nearly one billion COVID-19 vaccine doses have been delivered in less than six months, but anti-vaccine disinformation and targeted attacks on scientists are undermining progress. These threats must be confronted directly, and the authority and expertise of the health community alone aren’t enough to do this."
2."Even before the pandemic, I had a front-row seat to all of this. I have co-led efforts to develop vaccines in programmes, including a COVID-19 vaccine currently being tested in India."
3."Teams of experts, including me, began meeting regularly online to discuss how best to amplify evidence-based messages, deliver public-service announcements and address concerns around COVID-19 immunization."
4."...when I ask for a more direct way to counter anti-vaccine aggression, I’m told, “that’s not our approach; confrontation gives them a platform and oxygen.” In my opinion, this attitude reflects a time when we had dial-up modems. Today, the anti-vaccine empire has hundreds of websites and perhaps 58 million followers on social media. The bad guys are winning, in part because health agencies either underestimate or deny the reach of anti-science forces, and are ill-equipped to counter it."
5. the US State Department and the UK Foreign Office have described how Russian intelligence organizations seek to discredit Western COVID-19 vaccines. One campaign implies that it could turn people into monkeys. This builds on a longer, well-documented history of Russia-sponsored disinformation, presumably to destabilize the United States and other democratic countries. The administration of US President Joe Biden has warned Russian media groups to halt their anti-vaccine aggression, and announced sanctions tied to disinformation and other behaviour, but we need much more."
6."According to the London-based Center for Countering Digital Hate, these are influential groups, not a spontaneous grass-roots movement. Many far-right extremist groups that spread false information about last year’s US presidential election are doing the same about vaccines."
C.D.C. Will Not Investigate Mild Infections in Vaccinated Americans
New York Times ^ | May 25, 2021 | Roni Caryn Rabin
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3962937/posts
imwould change paternalistic to totalitarian
no need to male bash when a more accurate term applies
.....However, their skepticism, based on their own analysis of scientific data and unwillingness to defer to a “paternalistic, condescending elite,” also might embolden the kind of people who attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, they warn....
The Jan 6 Capitol attack is a nothingburger!!!!!
And people who believe that the 2020 Presidential election was stolen will be proved right—even more right than anti-maskers!!!!
Both MIT and Wellesley are run by leftist cabals!!!! The leftists “had to” attack the Capitol “incursion”, to ty to make up for their findings about anti-maskers!!!! PHOOEY to the leftists!!!!
Rationality and autonomy? These are anathema to totalitarians. They will do anything to fight those things.
It never was.
And it sure isn't now.
Remember how science said ulcers were induced chiefly by stress or spicy food? It turns out, they are induced chiefly by bacteria. Whoops.
The history of science is littered with "no wait....that's wrong...THIS is right..." going through the rinse and repeat cycle endlessly.
And that's ok. Inquiry and challenge and "being a science heretic" is, in many ways, how mankind learns more and can fix more problems.
But science isn't math. Your checking account balance is the sum of deposits less sum of withdrawals. Always. Forever.
The problem arises when people try to equate science with math...usually they call it "settled science." And, to be sure, robust inquiry and disciplined application of the scientific method usually gives you clear and distinct results. Then, science is settled...until we get new data or better techniques, and then we get "wait a minute..".
For example, there was a most excellent article posted on how "settled science" wasn't so settled, wherein:
seems that Earth has been misplaced. According to a new map of the Milky Way galaxy, the Solar System's position isn't where we thought it was. Not only is it closer to the galactic centre - and the supermassive hole therein, Sagittarius A* - it's orbiting at a faster clip.
It further noted other "errors" in SCIENCE:
A good recent example of this is the red giant star Betelgeuse, which turned out to be closer to Earth than previous measurements suggested. This means that it's neither as large nor as bright as we thought. Another is the object CK Vulpeculae, a star that exploded 350 years ago. It's actually much farther away, which means that the explosion was brighter and more energetic, and requires a new explanation, since previous analyses were performed under the assumption it was relatively low energy
The other problem arises when Certain Powers work overtime to suppress assiduous inquiry. Which, is what we have today as well. It's a bad double whammy.
"so why should we let someone teach social science that we know to be wrong in our social science courses?"
Because it is possible that you are wrong.
Science is not mathematics. Newtonian physics was wrong. And social science is a further three rungs down in certainty from science.
Your level of certainty and arrogance about what can be said, and probably thought, smacks of religion, and not science. This is a political religion that permeates academia at the moment. And which I am fairly sure you will swear does not infect you, while the rest of us can see the symptoms quite plainly.
Only religions ban heretics from speaking because of the wrong-think they might cause. Real science loves a good heretic. In fact, honestly, the entire goal of science is to be a heretic. To have an idea that no other person ever had. Science is the pretty much the antithesis of your thought-police approach.
And most of academia used to be the antithesis of your thought police approach as well, until the religion of leftism took it over, with the direct help of people like you.
These freaks are still worried about Russia, when our universities are training hundreds of thousands of Chinese nationals in the skills needed to beat us.
But not only are we right, we are therefore dangerous. To think for ourselves is dangerous to the general population? What a crock. And the Jan 6th demonstration was peaceful. Only person murdered was done by a democrat police officer. Republicans were peaceful.
“However, their skepticism, based on their own analysis of scientific data and unwillingness to defer to a “paternalistic, condescending elite,” also might embolden the kind of people who attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, they warn.”
Yeah? So what? Paternalistic condescending elites should expect to get attacked sometimes. It’s called the “circle of life”, Simba.
Very well put. Academic totalitarians fortunately aren’t yet a direct threat to those of us not in school, but they’d sure like to be.
Love the conclusion, folks thinking for themselves is dangerous....
The message is: Thinking makes you dangerous.
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