Thursday, 02.04.2020 – On Armchair Epidemiology. And On Being Wrong.

Link of the day: Scott Aaronson’s “On Armchair Epidemiology”

A viral article implores us to “flatten the curve of armchair epidemiology”—that is, to listen only to authoritive sources like the CDC, not random people spouting on social media. This was notable to me for being the diametric opposite of the actual lesson of the past two months. It would be like taking the lesson from the 2008 financial crisis that from now on, you would only trust serious rating agencies, like Moody’s or Standard & Poor.

I think I have myself been guilty of appreciating the current situation early enough, probably more on an emotional than on an intellectual level. I therefore very much liked Scott Aaronson’s piece. Rationalist bloggers and people on Twitter where much more right than I was, and much more right than most of the authorities we usually listen too. This is an interesting piece to read!

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