Re:Endonuclease fingerprint indicates a synthetic origin of ...
by roenxi on Friday October 21, 2022 @05:26AM
(#33286190)
This is a case of cognitive biases, and an unfortunate reflection on peoples inability to reason about risk.
Obviously if it is possible that COVID came from a lab then we should act as though it did - the best case is these labs are catastrophes still waiting to happen. And I suspect so is the web of international travel we've built up over the last few decades.
But at a population level, the human race can't process the implications of that. People are profoundly evidence based - we won't see action until there is evidence that a risk is manifesting. Which is possibly why people care about whether COVID originated in a lab or outside one.
Obviously if it is possible that COVID came from a lab then we should act as though it did - the best case is these labs are catastrophes still waiting to happen. And I suspect so is the web of international travel we've built up over the last few decades.
But at a population level, the human race can't process the implications of that. People are profoundly evidence based - we won't see action until there is evidence that a risk is manifesting. Which is possibly why people care about whether COVID originated in a lab or outside one.