🎓 Dr. Freemo 🇳🇱 @freemo@social.cleverlibre.org

@ABScientist @gemelliz @myeyesaredim @Pinchy63

Not sure what a shitty "news" organization writing shitty articles telling people the exact shitty stuff they are already saying is proof of anything interesting other than the fact that the millionairs are just as shitty as everyone else, but I knew that already.

@ABScientist @gemelliz @myeyesaredim @Pinchy63

Read the article quite some time back and am familiar with it. I am a research scientist working on COVID-19 for more than 2 years now. Being at the core of a lot of these debates as well so you'd be hard pressed to find a relelvant study i havent seen before relating to the common sort of debate questions.

@ABScientist @gemelliz @myeyesaredim @Pinchy63

> Mask mandates may be less effective than masks themselves, because people get so much misinformation about masks not working, that they do not wear them consistently.

Sadly you get misinformation from both sides. Those who promote masks try and sell it as this wonderfully effected and trusted solution, when the reality is we have very little good evidence showing just how effective it is at all. There are valid arguments that when used by the general problic they could even make matters worse... Then you have guys on the otherwise who will swear up and down the evidence cocnlusively shows masks are useless... When the misinformation is constantly from **both** sides, that is the problem, more so than just misinformation out there. At least if one side was objectively honest about it then people could all go to that side and get informed. Instead thats not what we have.

> The only reason I can think of is that there are people with influence who think that if people wear masks, this will mean less income generated.

Nah, its likely people just realizing they dont want to live their life walking around in low-grade hazmat gear over a disease that posses real, but managable risk that is not going to go away. Most of us simply see the mask as hypochondria levels and not healthy in multiple ways and are done with it.

@ABScientist @gemelliz @myeyesaredim @Pinchy63

> So why do government still mandate seatbelts and helmet?

Same reason they do most of the things they do. For money. Car companies could now sell another accessory and make more money off of it. Since everyone has to do it you dont have to take the risk on the tech either.

> Clearly people do not like wearing them and do not see the point of them.

I am sure people see the point of them, but your right, clearly people do not like wearing them.

> Isn't this taking away freedom from people?

It sure is, I would agree with you it should be revoked as a law.

@ABScientist

> How did we get to a "you do you" approach for masks (while this also means that people are a danger to everyone around them), but we would never imagine this approach to helmets and seat belts (not wearing them mostly harms the person themselves)?

Huh, sure we do. I know countless people who dont wear seatbelts just cause they dont feel they can be bothered. Even more so with helmets, most people i know around the world wont wear them when biking in relatively safe conditions. Not saying they are making the right choice, but people trade comfort for less safety all the time, and are usually happy with their choice.

@gemelliz @myeyesaredim @Pinchy63

@ABScientist

I dont think anyone in this thread is even debating whether masks can be effective or not. So not sure the relevance to the thread here.

@gemelliz @myeyesaredim @Pinchy63

Unions are just Home Owners Associations for humans... yea I said it.

@lupyuen False. He was a mathematician; he didnt have a personal life.

@sebastianmalloy

Are we saying that all VCs are people who wreck companies and destroy lives? Or are you saying he was a member of a specific VC company known for wrecking companies and destroying lives?

@SpinozasHeresy

No you dont. Its neither the poison nor the cure.

@darnell

@SpinozasHeresy

Im sure you can find a few that have very different numbers. No need to get into a statistical pissing context cause no matter if it prevented 5% or 50% of mass shootings it is undeniable that it prevented some number of them, thats the point.

@darnell

@SpinozasHeresy

To put actual numbers to it though. 34.4% - 49.1% (depending on the year) of active shooter events are stopped by an armed citizen.

https://crimeresearch.org/2022/10/massive-errors-in-fbis-active-shooting-reports-regarding-cases-where-civilians-stop-attacks-instead-of-4-4-the-correct-number-is-at-least-34-4-in-2021-it-is-at-least-49-1-excluding-gun-free-zon/

@darnell

@SpinozasHeresy

Sounds like people need to get some guns in good peoples hands so they can.

@darnell

@SpinozasHeresy

Obviously I will and I do.

@darnell

@SpinozasHeresy

Again applying general statistic to an individual is a failure in understanding statistics.

The statistics you are describing apply to an individual selected randomly from the population. It does not take into consideration the individual or the context.

So you cant talk about **me** since you did not select me randomly from the population. Even if you did you'd only be talking about your selection process and why it is likely to yield a particular individual.. talking about "me" without reference to how you selected me really makes no sense when we talk about statistics (and also why most people misunderstand statistics).

@darnell

@darnell

The quality of the police force is of limited help. Even if you have 100% devoted servant police they still will arrive on the scene almost all of the time **after** the crime happens. So the only one who will ever save you in the vast majority of incidents will be you.

Now being a low-crime area, that may diminish the need. If there was little to no crime no one would really need a gun to defend themselves at all. That said no where int he world is without crime so even if your in a low-crime area having a gun is the responsible choice just in case.

@SpinozasHeresy

@SpinozasHeresy

Stop being pedantic, Neither I nor any gun owners see ourselves as tough guys. We just want to be responsible and ensure that should we ever be in the horrible happen stance of needing to defend ourselves to save our own lives, that we can.

@darnell

@SpinozasHeresy

Statistically speaking **I** am far more likely to shoot a criminal than myself or an innocent person. For the general population filled with less responsible people that may not be the case. But you cant apply the general to the individual.

Some individuals will have a high probability of killing a bad guy, some people will have a high probability of killing themselves. The problem is it is hard to tell which is which, and ultimately people have a right to decide for themselves which of those groups they think they are in.

@darnell