Another New Year’s Resolution Shot to Hell.
The saying goes that “The two most common elements in the universe are Hydrogen and stupidity.”
A new year begins, but stupidity marches inexorably onward. . .
Today it was revealed that Jim Jordan, the Republican representative from Ohio tweeted, "If the booster shots work, why don't they work?" and just yesterday I read that some talking head or social media influencer said she wouldn’t ever get vaccinated because it wasn’t guaranteed to be 100% effective. Aside from death, nothing in life is guaranteed 100%, except that political fanatics will never run out of new conspiracies theories.
It seems that the dumbest Americans only trust themselves; everyone else is an idiot, despite the fact that most of these rocket scientists can’t pass a simple junior high school exam, and are as sharp as a bowl of Jell-O. They simply won’t believe that anyone knows more than they do, even though they have no scientific background or education of any kind, and have done no vaccine testing themselves or participated in vaccine trials. They don’t believe anyone who says that the COVID vaccine is safe and effective, regardless of how many studies, doctors and scientists say so, thus proving the *Dunning-Kruger effect. (see below) The same people who willingly got vaccinations for mumps, measles, smallpox and a host of other diseases, without any concern whatsoever, have now decided that THIS vaccine is dangerous.
They don’t take COVID seriously because they just know that bad things won’t happen to them. They argue that we should “let nature take its course,” until it’s them or a family member who gets sick or dies. Then many of them still deny COVID and invent some other cause for their misfortune. They march confidently into the great unknown blissfully armed with a belief system borne of social media, and blind faith in celebrities and politicians they unquestionably worship, all the while characterizing those who are vaccinated as “sheeple”, and the medical professionals, scientists and experts as idiots or criminals. It’s not about science; it’s all about politics.
I have read so many conspiracy theories about COVID, masks and vaccines that I cannot keep track. But to refuse to wear a mask or be vaccinated because they’re not 100% effective is mind bogglingly stupid. If we refused to do anything because it isn’t guaranteed 100% would mean the end of life as we know it.
· We would have unprotected sex whenever we wanted because condoms are not guaranteed to be 100% effective;
· None of us would get married because it’s not guaranteed to last 100% of the time;
· Entrepreneurs would cease to exist. Innovation would stop. Nobody would start a business because there was no 100% guarantee of success;
· Paratroopers would stop wearing parachutes because they’re not guaranteed to deploy 100% of the time;
· Nobody would wear a seat belt or motorcycle helmet because they don’t prevent death 100% of the time;
· Soldiers, Marines and Police officers would refuse to wear ballistic helmets and/or armor because they don’t stop 100% of all bullets and shrapnel.
· Nobody would ever take another pill or medication again, because we all know that adverse side effects are possible with every single medication ever developed.
And on, and on, and on….
The evidence regarding vaccines is clear. Vaccines save lives and are exceedingly safe. Characterizing the discussion around vaccines as a “debate” is fundamentally wrong because there is no legitimate debate. There is simply the infantile petulance of people who refuse to consider anything done for the common good; much like a spoiled two-year-old throwing a temper tantrum and mashed potatoes about the kitchen.
‘Seventy or ninety per cent effectiveness is remarkably high” says Dr. Andrew Preston, specializing in microbial pathogenesis at the University of Bath. “There is too much variation in the population’s immune systems for any vaccine to be 100 per cent effective. . . For example, as we age, our immune system responds less well, which means vaccinating older people in general is a problem. Any condition that weakens the immune system, including obesity, may also affect our response to a vaccine. Obesity creates an inflammatory state in the body and it’s thought the heightened inflammatory state may exhaust the immune system, making it less able to respond to vaccines.”
Vaccines will never be 100% because people are fundamentally different; that’s why all medications have potential side effects that affect a small minority of those taking them. Each of us has accepted this reality our whole lives, but now we have people who choose to ignore this and invent conspiracy theories instead.
My New Year’s resolution last night was to have nothing more to do with stupid people like these, but I awoke this morning to the realization my teleporter still isn’t working.
It might be a new year, but it’s just another day in Amerikkka.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/dunning-kruger-effect
*The concept of the Dunning-Kruger effect is based on a 1999 paper by Cornell University psychologists David Dunning and Justin Kruger. The pair tested participants on their logic, grammar, and sense of humor, and found that those who performed in the bottom quartile rated their skills far above average. For example, those in the 12th percentile self-rated their expertise to be, on average, in the 62nd percentile.
The researchers attributed the trend to a problem of metacognition—the ability to analyze one’s own thoughts or performance. “Those with limited knowledge in a domain suffer a dual burden: Not only do they reach mistaken conclusions and make regrettable errors, but their incompetence robs them of the ability to realize it,” they wrote.
Many people would describe themselves as above average in intelligence, humor, and a variety of skills. They can’t accurately judge their own competence, because they lack metacognition, or the ability to step back and examine oneself objectively. In fact, those who are the least skilled are also the most likely to overestimate their abilities.