Interesting new essay that I mostly agree with, though not sure if astrophysics and medical science, for example, differ in kind or just in degree, in terms of the requirement for social practices to correct individual biases/blind spots.https://twitter.com/BostonReview/status/1388304669349457923 …
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Also I've been thinking as the pandemic has worn on (and on) that the issue of trusting or not scientific experts on the facts is really distinct from the q of what role they should play in guiding decisions.
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"Follow the science" as a guide to decision making is incomplete if you believe is != ought. Something more like "incorporate the science" or "Decide how to accomplish your ends while incorporating the best science" or some other clunky formula
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Replying to @mlipsitch
One can hardly be against it, but I'm not sure how "civic learning" deals with key problem: that there is no consensus among the credentialed, low predictive-power all-around *and* there's social media.
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Replying to @zeynep @mlipsitch
There is hardly a question around which you do not find really start differences among people with all the right credentials, and—while not discussed a lot—you can't go by "follow those with good track records"—some things are hard to predict and lots of people were plain wrong.
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Replying to @zeynep @mlipsitch
I like these ideas in principle, "let's see the science and discuss the trade-offs" but I'm just not making the leap to how an ordinary person is supposed to figure out which science to believe? (That's why I think the public health agencies are crucial: they alone can do this).
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Replying to @zeynep @mlipsitch
Reminds me of financial investing; it’s impossible/impractical for the ordinary person to continually do the deep and timely research required to invest effectively. Deferral to institutions to shoulder this burden, at a reasonable cost to the individual, is not a bad solution.
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Yeah. I like research—temperamentally and also, obviously, professionally—but being able to confidently defer, especially in a crisis—with some transparency and accountability, along with trade-offs presented as openly political choices—feels like the hallmark of civilization.
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