What's your chance of hospitalization if infected with COVID?

[Doctor CamNC4Me]

Perfect.

- Doc

[honorentheos]

....an accelerating national debt and a Democrat in office.

Noted. When the debt was accelerating under Trump you weren't concerned. The sentence fragment above at least accurately conveys your position. The debts not the concern as an issue. I doubt you could articulate why it may be an issue. You're happy when a Republican tanks the national debt. Its a concern only when a Democrat's in office.

[Doctor Steuss]

None of my Democrat friends, as far as I know, believe that nonsense.

41% of Democrats in the survey believed that you have a 50% risk of being hospitalized if you are infected with COVID.

41% of Trump supporters (30% of Republicans) support bombing the fictional city of Agrabah.

I think one of the greatest hurdles of any democracy (especially our own) is the preponderance of low-information voters. Our elections are often decided by morons... which naturally results in morons being in elected positions as well.

I don't know if expanded compulsory education would be the answer, or if something more drastic would be needed. One thing is for certain (in my opinion) -- as tribalism increases, and political purity tests are further codified, it'll get worse long before it gets better.

[Gunnar]

41% of Trump supporters (30% of Republicans) support bombing the fictional city of Agrabah.

I think one of the greatest hurdles of any democracy (especially our own) is the preponderance of low-information voters. Our elections are often decided by morons... which naturally results in morons being in elected positions as well.

I don't know if expanded compulsory education would be the answer, or if something more drastic would be needed. One thing is for certain (in my opinion) -- as tribalism increases, and political purity tests are further codified, it'll get worse long before it gets better.

I very much fear that you're right, and I find that heartbreaking. The Republicans (most notably Ted Cruz) are all but coming out and openly admitting that they would rather be corrupt than tell the truth, if they think that's what it takes to get votes.

[ajax18]

I think one of the greatest hurdles of any democracy (especially our own) is the preponderance of low-information voters. Our elections are often decided by morons... which naturally results in morons being in elected positions as well.

These COVID beliefs are not the result of low IQ. It's the result of mainstream media propaganda and control of information.

[Gadianton]

it's true that the mainstream media has overplayed its hand at times, for instance when jack-ass got it, I didn't like the fact that CNN exaggerated the severity, because the chances were still well in his favor that he'd be okay. But I don't recall mainstream media actually posting bogus numbers about it, like you guys do. sheesh. You sure have high standards for everyone but yourselves.

I mean, you and your right-wing buddies are world-class liars through and through, when it comes to Covid and pretty much anything else now, and so really, it doesn't matter if somebody else has slipped up, even if far less severely, you're going to pretend to believe the same lies either way.

The main problem you have, or it least the lie you tell yourselves, is that there isn't a difference between small numbers and tiny numbers. Hospitals are equipped to handle a tiny percentage of the population at any given time. Covid affects a small percentage. A small percentage can be tens or a hundred times a tiny percentage, totally overwhelming hospitals.

See, Ajax, your only interest in this story is to suggest that because people have exaggerated the risk to themselves, that precautions are exaggerated and the general threat of the virus to society is exaggerated.

Most people can't tell you correct statistics on chances of getting killed by a drunk driver. Those who overestimate, in your world, would do well to forgo putting on seatbelts and not worry about following distances so much. we shouldn't worry about drunk driving because it's not as bad as people think.

No, it's just most people don't think lucidly in numbers, but that doesn't necessarily translate into irrational everyday behavior.

[Gunnar]

I think one of the greatest hurdles of any democracy (especially our own) is the preponderance of low-information voters. Our elections are often decided by morons... which naturally results in morons being in elected positions as well.

These COVID beliefs are not the result of low IQ. It's the result of mainstream media propaganda and control of information.

There is no more blatant example of deliberate "media propaganda" and disinformation than right wing media's doubling down on supporting Trump's outrageous lie that the election was stolen from him, and his (by his own admission) persistent attempts to downplay and minimize the seriousness of the pandemic. The mainstream media has generally been pretty consistent and accurate in reporting the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 and deaths plus hospitalization and positivity rates, consistent with official reports by the CDC and competent medical authorities. I have never seen mainstream media reports explicitly or even implicitly supporting the misperception possessed by some that 50% of COVID patients need to be hospitalized. If you think otherwise, it is almost certainly only because you are so desperately determined to find or read something into mainstream media news that really isn't there.

[Gunnar]

it's true that the mainstream media has overplayed its hand at times, for instance when jack-ass got it, I didn't like the fact that CNN exaggerated the severity, because the chances were still well in his favor that he'd be okay. But I don't recall mainstream media actually posting bogus numbers about it, like you guys do. sheesh. You sure have high standards for everyone but yourselves.

I mean, you and your right-wing buddies are world-class liars through and through, when it comes to Covid and pretty much anything else now, and so really, it doesn't matter if somebody else has slipped up, even if far less severely, you're going to pretend to believe the same lies either way.

The main problem you have, or it least the lie you tell yourselves, is that there isn't a difference between small numbers and tiny numbers. Hospitals are equipped to handle a tiny percentage of the population at any given time. Covid affects a small percentage. A small percentage can be tens or a hundred times a tiny percentage, totally overwhelming hospitals.

See, Ajax, your only interest in this story is to suggest that because people have exaggerated the risk to themselves, that precautions are exaggerated and the general threat of the virus to society is exaggerated.

Most people can't tell you correct statistics on chances of getting killed by a drunk driver. Those who overestimate, in your world, would do well to forgo putting on seatbelts and not worry about following distances so much. we shouldn't worry about drunk driving because it's not as bad as people think.

No, it's just most people don't think lucidly in numbers, but that doesn't necessarily translate into irrational everyday behavior.

Yeah! Much like I said, only you said it better! Thanks!

[Gunnar]

John Oliver does an excellent job of pushing back on Tucker Carlson's nonsense and explaining why we should be reassured by the current state of the science concerning COVID and vaccination. I wish ajax would view it, but he probably won't.

I was particularly impressed and amused by the way he debunked the idea that the vaccine put nanochips into your body to track you. If Bill Gates or anyone else wanted to track you, they could already do so if you have and regularly use a smart phone, and there is little or nothing you can do to prevent it.

[Icarus]

The largest sample size of the survey participated in July 2020 during a month when COVID cases had doubled and there was still a lot of uncertainty about the transmissibility of the virus. If the survey were done in 2021 the results would undoubtedly be different. Ajax is saying these were from March 2021 because he's a lying idiot who is too lazy to read the sources.

The survey question doesn't ask "What's your chance" of hospitalization as ajax falsely claims. The question asks “What percentage of people who have been infected by the coronavirus needed to be hospitalized?” This question could be interpreted different ways. Does one "need" to be hospitalized for quarantining purposes? Because that was the only way it was handled in the beginning. During the first months of the pandemic virtually everyone we heard about getting the virus was also hospitalized, but it doesn't mean they were having complications with it.

In the early stages of the pandemic when testing was scarce we knew very little about how easily the virus was transmitted and even less about why some people have complications and others don't. So what if some people thought it was more infectious than it was? Better to err on the side of caution than be one of these Republican idiots which the same survey blasted for their ignorance:

rothwell_covidinfo_fig2-01.png

"those who deny asymptomatic spread or believe the flu or auto accidents are more deadly than COVID-19 are much less likely to wear a mask or isolate themselves from non-household members, according to our survey results."

Morons. But of course, ajax doesn't talk about that.

https://www.brookings.edu/research/how- ... behaviors/