Truth Is Elusive
The truth is elusive, especially in science (Ref1). The eminent physicist Richard Feynman put it this way, “Science is the belief in the ignorance of experts.” When it is said that, “Science teaches such and such, he is using the word incorrectly. Science doesn’t teach it: experience teaches it.” In addition, scientists need to “Pass on the accumulated wisdom, plus the wisdom that it might not be wisdom…. to teach both to accept and reject the past with a kind of balance that takes considerable skill. Science alone of all the subjects contains within itself the lesson of the danger of belief in the infallibility of the greatest teachers of the preceding generation” (Ref.2). Science is always evolving; it is never fixed; it should not be threatening to have different points of view on a specific matter; the best approximation of the present day, scientific “Truth” is a distillation that evolves over time. Thus, what was called “The Science” during the pandemic was using the word “Science” incorrectly, and limiting debate was in direct contradistinction with true “Science.”
During the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, in direct violation of “Science,” our federal government made several attempts to quell debate or falsify information regarding the most reasonable approach to the threat of the virus and its source. A CIA whistleblower claims that six of the seven-member team charged with determining the source of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic found that the Wuhan lab was the most likely source. These six were given extra pay to follow the most senior member to agree that it was most likely a zoonosis source (Ref.3). When Elon Musk took over Twitter, now X, he restored several accounts that had been shut down at the request of several federal agencies because they had dared to disagree with official government Covid-19 policies (Ref.4). The revelation of these shutdowns, along with the same federal actions at Facebook, led to the states of Missouri and Louisiana along with affected scientists to sue the federal government for violating their constitutional “Freedom of Speech” rights. Both the District and Appeal Federal Courts found the government guilty (Ref.5,6). An injunction by Justice Alito allowed the government to continue its contact with social media till cases are brought before the Supreme Court, which is scheduled for later in October (Ref.7).
Some legal experts are concerned that the court may have to consider our present political divisions when interpreting this case. (Ref.8). I disagree; stifling debate on scientific issues is anti-science. While censoring what it thought was misinformation, the government was wrong on many issues. Vaccination did NOT stop the spread of the virus; previous infections DID provide excellent protection against serious disease. Healthy young people had vanishingly low serious disease rates, while in some vaccines caused myocarditis. Lockdowns caused severe educational setbacks for millions of children and increased mental health problems. Our economy is still suffering from many ill effects. There were better alternatives presented by qualified individuals that were suppressed by the government (Ref.9). We should never again suppress debate on any scientific question, as truth is elusive.
- Ethan Siegel, Ask Ethan: What Does ‘Truth’ Mean To A Scientist? Forbes, July 13, 2019, available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/startswithabang/2019/07/13/ask-ethan-what-does-truth-mean-to-a-scientist/?sh=38d0b0b87820
2. Ben Trubody, Richard Freynman’s Philosophy of Science, Philosophy, November 2016, available at: https://philosophynow.org/issues/114/Richard_Feynmans_Philosophy_of_Science#:~:text=Feynman%20says%20we%20learn%20from%20science%20th
3. John Ratcliffe and Cliff Sims, The CIA Politicizes Intelligence on China and Covid, WSJ, September 18, 2023, available at:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-cia-politicizes-intelligence-on-china-whistleblower-covid-election-interference-trump-f74806c3
4. Ashley Capoot, Twitter stops policing Covid misinformation under CEO Elon Musk and reportedly restores 62,000 suspended accounts, CNBC, November 29, 2022, available at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/29/twitter-stops-policing-covid-19-misinformation-under-ceo-elon-musk.html
5. The Editorial Board, The Biden-Big Tech Collusion Case, WSJ, July 5, 2023, available at: https://www.wsj.com/articles/missouri-v-biden-judge-terry-doughty-rob-flaherty-andy-slavitt-white-house-big-tech-free-speech-9a98f268
6. Tierney Sneed, Appeals court says Biden admin likely violated First Amendment but narrows order blocking officials from communicating with social media companies, CNN, September 9, 2023, available at: https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/08/politics/biden-administration-social-media-lawsuit/index.html
7.Devan Cole, Justice Alito extends pause on ruling limiting Biden administration communications with social media companies, CNN, September 14, 2023, available at: https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/14/politics/biden-administration-supreme-court-appeal-social-media-case/index.html#:~:text=Supreme%20Court%20
8. Clay Calvert, Missouri v. Biden and the crossroads of politics, censorship and free speech, The Hill, September 13, 2023, available at: https://thehill.com/opinion/judiciary/4198285-missouri-v-biden-and-the-crossroads-of-politics-censorship-and-free-speech/
9. Drs. Martin Kulldorff, Sunetra Gupta, Jay Bhattacharya, The Great Barrington Declaration, available at: https://gbdeclaration.org/
Look at this old YouTube video of Cuomo.
https: // www – dot – youtube – dot – com/watch?v=2X1Tgmsv9Ao
It’s from 2020. Look at the comments. A big part of the problem is people who actually support such dictatorial jerks. This is the clown responsible for the deaths of nursing home residents by forcing them back into nursing homes from hospitals while still infectious.
“Let them eat cake” I mean get an “essential job”.
Which means a Mom-and-Pop florist shop getting maybe one customer at a time every few minutes, was non-essential. Same with a photo shop or a sandwich shop or a pizza joint or garden store or hardware store. How easy is it to spread virus with a couple people in the shop and often empty apart from the proprietors? But they all got shut down.
But if you are a Big Box Store with flowers and photos and sandwiches and pizza and garden supplies and hardware, and hundreds of people in the shop all at once, that’s OK.
And people really think that nasty ignoramus Cuomo was a leader.
My favorite quote ever regarding Science (from the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy):
“I’m a scientist and I know what constitutes proof. But the reason I call myself by my childhood name is to remind myself that a scientist must also be absolutely like a child. If he sees a thing, he must say that he sees it, whether it was what he thought he was going to see or not. See first, think later, then test. But always see first. Otherwise you will only see what you were expecting. Most scientists forget that.” — Wonko the Sane
Well Said. Thank you
Well said Ken. It is shameful that our profession by and large encouraged panic, and helped to herd itself and society at large into one “acceptable” perspective.
It is terrifying to observe the extent to which government has gained control of physicians’ actions and minds.