“He who can does; he who cannot, teaches.”
George Bernard Shaw (above) may have been harsh on academics, but as a professional working in risk management, I was appalled to read in the Irish Independent “We must completely eliminate coronavirus to return to normal, scientists warn”. To explain, as Voltaire phrased it “In his writings, a wise Italian says that the best is the enemy of good”. 20% of the effort may well get you 80% of the performance (Pareto principle), but perfection is solely an ideal. The plane designed never to crash could not lift into the air. While eliminating the circa 150 annual deaths on our roads, would require us to permit only walking.
Therefore, risk is inherently connected to a degree of reward. As the ISO and our legislation explains, safety is not zero risk, but where the residual risk is reduced to a level society accepts in a given context. The Lisbon Treaty does include the precautionary principle, but the Commission’s guidance on its application is very clear. It requires a strict adherence to risk management and “Measures (…) must not be disproportionate to the desired level of protection and must not aim at zero risk”.
Einstein is portrayed as an older wise man, but he was young and unknown when he published his theory of relativity, challenging the Newtonian physics established for centuries. Some considered him an upstart and a ‘scientific’ book was published ‘One Hundred Authors against Einstein’. Einstein’s alleged reply was one would not need the word of a hundred scientists, just one fact, which no one had produced.
Science is never about consensus, which is politics. Neither should 'so called scientists’ seek to establish the ‘consensus of scientists’ to deliberately push the political process. Society alone decides the acceptability of risk; after all, if our mothers believed in ‘zero risk’, none of us would have been born.
Furthermore, what happens if the evidence emerges to show these ‘scientists’ are wrong. Are they prosecuted for negligence, as professionals involved in the practical application of science, such as doctors and engineers, are? Have they accurately informed, in the wider context of ‘teach’? For example, the data is readily available and the sums not hard, if you are under 65, you are as likely to die from a road accident as from COVID.
Regulation is required to be based on Regulatory Impact Analysis identifying the costs, benefits, uncertainties, etc., conducted in a transparent manner with public participation. Not developed by ‘scientists’, who know what, is best for us.
Hi Owen,
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. Countries that enforced strict lockdowns and suppressed community transmission are living nervously.They are waiting for the first wave that never really hit them. Countries that got a good whack the first time are much less likely to get a significant second wave and as lockdowns are released this is being borne out. As my 19 year old son recently said we are suffering from a "health and safety apocalypse" more than a pandemic.
Corona virus was discovered in 19657.It is/was called 229E. It is a species of corona virus. Which infects Humans and BATS. So we have been living with corona virus infections for generations. Discovering them in chickens in the 1930's. In humans in the 1960's and these clowns seem to think that we can only have normal life when corona virus is eliminated.A)what planet do they live on or B) why did we have a normal live up until now living with corona virus.There is no test that can identify COVID_19. Therefore it is actually very unlikely to have existed. It is distinctly probable that the virus claimed to be COVID_19 was actually 229E. An ancient corona virus that we would have up to now would have basically ignored.The medical profession has been totally corrupted by vested interest interests
DeleteIn a world of political correctness, this was bound to happen. The scare had to be novel, road accidents are not novel. Education left the masses aware that their world is made up of atoms and a wiggly wobbly virus is the same to the semi educated. Death is their fear, its not politically correct, it must be overcome. Shutting down the whole world to give to buy time, to get protective equipment and give medical staff a break was one thing I would accept for a while, but shutting it down all year long is a ridiculous waste.
ReplyDeleteAll that remains to be answered is what will the price be? I hope is it very high in financial and political terms. I hope it is so high that it will kill political correctness, green hysteria and the do-good mentality. The cure may be worst than the disease. The bed-wetters run the world's governments. Perhaps they will have to go out and work for a boss to earn a living. The shock of that will make Corona Virus look minor.
The first corona virus identified was 229E. That was in 1965. This corona virus impacts HUMANS AND BATS. As there is no test that can accurately identify COVID_19 many of the alleged COViD_19 infections could have the 229E corona virus .Which has been infecting humans for millennia. 229E Corona virus has a significantly negative impact on the health of those with compromised immune systems.So these alleged scientists say we cannot go back to normal until corona virus is eliminated.229E is one of 7 corona viruses that impact humans.So which virus is first for the chop. 229E or HVoV-NL63 or any of the others and in what order. The biggest Conn in history should be ended immediately. Politicians who initiated it should be held to account
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