For help, advice and discussion about stuff not related to aviation. Play nice: no religion, no politics and no axe grinding please.
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#1851935
johnm wrote:@kanga Sir David Spiegelhalter perhaps, he's a very good chap.

Edited: Listened now and indeed it is.


yes, and yes :thumright:

[and, incidentally, the third item in the gist of today's programme on the BBC site:

"Third wave fears, smart motorways and bra sizes"

.. refers to a statistical investigation of the common claim that most ladies are wearing the wrong size lingerie. My late mother's last employment was, for several years, on the lingerie concession of a local department store, offering a full 'measuring service'. She claimed to be able to assess a lady's proper size (and that the lady was often wearing the wrong one) 'at 20 paces' as she tended to put it. I had no reason to doubt it, but she was apparently unaware that she tended to do this assessment audibly as she passed total strangers in the street .. :oops: ]
#1851951
eltonioni wrote:
A couple of other geneally sane commentators worth following on the medical side would include Tim Spectre...

... and John Campbell

Pick your bias, etc :)


I never thought it would be possible to find anyone who could top Matt Hancock when it comes to dull presentation style. But then, like busses, two come along at once. :wink:
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#1851962
kanga wrote:She claimed to be able to assess a lady's proper size (and that the lady was often wearing the wrong one) 'at 20 paces' as she tended to put it. I had no reason to doubt it, but she was apparently unaware that she tended to do this assessment audibly as she passed total strangers in the street .. :oops: ]

These days men get arrested for that. :wink:

PW
#1852038
Paultheparaglider wrote:
eltonioni wrote:
A couple of other geneally sane commentators worth following on the medical side would include Tim Spectre...

... and John Campbell

Pick your bias, etc :)


I never thought it would be possible to find anyone who could top Matt Hancock when it comes to dull presentation style. But then, like busses, two come along at once. :wink:

They should get the GASCO people on it :lol:
#1852122
Every now and then the curtain draws back, Ozlike, and we see what's behind.

Social distancing, masks, hand sanitising should remain "forever".
- Susan Michie, SAGE member and communist.

(You only need to listen to the first minute of the madness)

flybymike liked this
#1852147
eltonioni wrote:(You only need to listen to the first minute of the madness)


Again, you're going to have to enlighten me as to how the observations that vaccines are only one part of the answer and that human behaviour is important to stopping the spread of a virus are in some way "madness".

Seven and a half thousand new cases every day would suggest that these are correct and that some of the behavioural aspects of managing the spread of the virus need to continue for some time. Nobody currently knows whether that will be a week, a month a year or a lifetime.
kanga, johnm liked this
#1852151
Horrible thought and it raises some interesting questions. In a world where one never touches strangers, or gets within touching distance of them, how does one decide that a person is no longer a "stranger" and can be admitted into the "touching space"? And how do we rejig business and life so that we can all afford the space necessary for permanent social distancing protocols?
Then, of course, there is the green question; the pandemic has unilaterally, and instantly, reversed a lot of green initiatives and habits that we were trying to cultivate. Does the pandemic risk outweigh the climate change risk?
flybymike liked this
#1852153
eltonioni wrote:@JAFO She thinks that social distancing, masks, hand sanitising should remain "forever".

She's nuts. What is that needs explaining to enlighten you?


Do you actually not hear the things which don't fit in with your views or do you hear them and then choose to ignore them?

She said that some behavioural aspects of virus control would be a good idea to keep forever TO SOME EXTENT.
#1852157
I heard it perfectly well but didn't choose to split hairs or make assumptions on her behalf, preferring to take what she actually said as what she thinks, rather than what I think she might have said if she'd said something different. Because "forever, to some extent" is, as I wrote, forever.

While you're here JAFO, have you had any thoughts on this other than a rolly eye smiley?
eltonioni wrote: In other words - what's the exit strategy now we have vaccines? I happen to think we're there - it's all over bar the shouting. You and others disagree but (unless I missed it - which is entirely likely :oops: ) haven't articulated why in any convincing way.
flybymike liked this
By TopCat
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1852172
Given the number of masks that are either absent completely, or worn stylishly as chinstraps by plenty of people on public transport at the moment, I don't hold out much hope.

But it would interesting to see whether, and if so, how much, incidence of colds, flu, and other respiratory viruses changed if:

  • mask wearing on public transport became the norm and...
  • 'presenteeism' culture became a thing of the past, whereby people stagger into work no matter how sick they are and how much they're spewing viruses around the offices.
I wouldn't be surprised if these measures actually made quite a significant difference.

I've had a couple of really bad chest infections in recent years, usually around January. Having had what I'm pretty sure was Covid, which has left me with some long term odd side effects that I can only describe as occasional slight asthma, I'm dreading catching the next one if I've got a bit of long term bronchial damage. It is getting better very slowly, and it doesn't need medication, but sometimes it's not nice.

I'd be very happy with a modest culture change when it comes to the gratuitous spreading of germs.
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By flybymike
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1852186
God gave us an inbuilt immune system with which to fend off transmissible diseases. It is the happy circumstance which ultimately allows us herd immunity.
Locking ourselves away from any hint of exposure to transmissible disease will of course (not) work wonders for maintaining this natural immune system which has seen us all through the development of mankind over the ages.
Anyone who sees permanent mask wearing and social distancing as a new norm is stark staring bonkers.
Cns416 liked this
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