Posts by DecaturNature@qoto.org
(DIR) Post #AStAo35bnCwM1OnYo4 by DecaturNature@qoto.org
2023-02-21T01:31:47Z
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@admitsWrongIfProven @Pat Commenting on the actions of elected officials is largely a waste of time, but sometimes I feel compelled to do so. Out of respect for the people who don't want to get dragged into that nonsense and just scroll past long, irrelevant rants (especially those outside of the US), I put a content wrapper around posts about US politics with a succinct subject line. #politics #CW
(DIR) Post #AStAtfe1sBFV2vZxlw by DecaturNature@qoto.org
2023-02-21T01:32:49Z
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@admitsWrongIfProven @Pat Commenting on the actions of elected officials is largely a waste of time, but sometimes I feel compelled to do so. Out of respect for the people who don't want to get dragged into that nonsense and scroll past long, irrelevant rants (especially those outside of the US), I put a content wrapper around posts about US politics with a succinct subject line. #politics #CW
(DIR) Post #ASvFqrxIX87GRgzlUe by DecaturNature@qoto.org
2023-02-22T01:37:45Z
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@Pat @admitsWrongIfProven My understanding is that Qoto is focused on science and technology, not electoral politics. I know that using CW may result in fewer people reading what I post. If you find it tedious to expand the CW, there's an option to do so automatically.
(DIR) Post #ASvFzpPrLNjZAzcuZ6 by DecaturNature@qoto.org
2023-02-22T01:39:22Z
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@Pat Ironic to mute someone for the offense of not shoving their opinion in your face.
(DIR) Post #ASwjTlhymkRkC2gtSC by DecaturNature@qoto.org
2023-02-22T18:44:26Z
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@Moon @feld They are people we should have our eyes on next time there is a coup/secession attempt. Likewise for anyone saying that Kamala Harris is not a citizen (e.g. as asserted by Trump lawyer Eastman)
(DIR) Post #ASwkmpu9VWXqfF2aDA by DecaturNature@qoto.org
2023-02-22T18:59:05Z
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@dankennedy_nu Unfortunately that essay repeats a major misunderstanding about the Cochrane report -- it says nothing about mask mandates or use of masks by the general population to protect against COVID-19. Instead it compiles data from studies on whether masking in very specific situations protected specific populations from flu. The main studies focused on college students in dorms (wearing surgical masks a few hours a day) or health care workers wearing masks while providing care to patients (but not otherwise while at work or at home). None of the masking studies addressed COVID, and none addressed situations where people were wearing masks whenever they entered a public building.#covid #masking
(DIR) Post #ASwlDsmKvjjlOdHWM4 by DecaturNature@qoto.org
2023-02-22T19:03:59Z
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@dankennedy_nu The reporting on this meta-analysis is absurdly sloppy. For instance, Tayag's article in the Atlantic says that it incorporated data from 78 masking studies. It only used 17 masking studies of masking (the bulk focused on hand-washing). This information is in the abstract of the Cochrane article -- which Tayag apparently did not read.#journalism #covid #masking
(DIR) Post #ASwlO8rdylsmBGejvU by DecaturNature@qoto.org
2023-02-22T19:05:50Z
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@dankennedy_nu The studies used for each analysis are also listed clearly in two figures:https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD006207.pub6/references#CD006207-fig-0005https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD006207.pub6/references#CD006207-fig-0006
(DIR) Post #ASwn35u9zFYupTvNWy by DecaturNature@qoto.org
2023-02-22T19:24:26Z
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Sorry -- I needed to retract my earlier comment about the absence of COVID studies and the college dorm study being the main one; I had gotten something mixed up with the earlier version of the report (2020)
(DIR) Post #ASwoFUD5Xv4ZdkFcLA by DecaturNature@qoto.org
2023-02-22T19:37:53Z
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But I did check the updated report (Jan 2023) and see that both of the COVID studies included in the test of surgical masks showed that these masks did have a protective effect (Abaluck and Bungaard: https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD006207.pub6/references#CD006207-fig-0005). The 'negative results' are completely from flu studies. A few studies can be highlighted based on the weight given in the meta-analysis -- none of the main studies cover situations similar to American-style mask mandates (whether institutional or general), nor to the masking behavior of the 'covid cautious' in the US.#covid #masking #journalism
(DIR) Post #ASxZ3D5o3fq4vDUcqG by DecaturNature@qoto.org
2023-02-23T04:22:18Z
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@Bertrecords @dankennedy_nu I've seen some good science reporters at the Atlantic. I've never noticed Tayag before. But I am losing a lot of trust in the magazine -- especially once I found them publishing a sympathetic article about advocacy being performed by a paranoid conspiracy theorist without mentioning that fact -- and even linking out to those conspiracy theorist websites as though they were legitimate information sources.
(DIR) Post #AT1cRwNmOrWCpZDv72 by DecaturNature@qoto.org
2023-02-25T03:19:14Z
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In 2016, the Libertarian Presidential ticket featured two former Republican governors. They got 3.3% of the vote, while the Republican party rallied 46% of the vote for an inexperienced demagogue. Even as this crowd cries about their precious 'liberties', they lined up behind an authoritarian President in 2020 who was consolidating power wherever he could. These people are no friends of liberty -- even in its most conservative form. #elections #USA #liberty #freedom
(DIR) Post #AT1cd9xcG28o7yKqxc by DecaturNature@qoto.org
2023-02-25T03:21:15Z
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While Trump solicited treason, half of the Republican party went along with him, while the other half mumbled "that wouldn't be prudent". #elections #USA #Trump #GOP
(DIR) Post #AT1d3OOnCO1KR7YW48 by DecaturNature@qoto.org
2023-02-25T03:26:00Z
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Never fall for the politician's lie that their party (Dem or Rep) represents half of the USA. They may get almost half of the vote, but that doesn't mean shit. Half of the eligible voters stay home, so the politicians only get about one quarter of the potential vote. Even those voters are frequently voting for the "lesser of two evils", after the political-economic elite eliminates any chance for decent people to rise to the top.#elections #USA
(DIR) Post #AT1dH7tjLVPvJVZjw8 by DecaturNature@qoto.org
2023-02-25T03:28:29Z
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@swcollings The craziest thing about Christian Science is that they manage to put together a pretty good newspaper, despite seeming to reject basic reality.
(DIR) Post #AT1dpp3LP2C50DcI3U by DecaturNature@qoto.org
2023-02-25T03:34:45Z
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@john Mask mandates and such.
(DIR) Post #AT2iyIKB9L7X23JHJA by DecaturNature@qoto.org
2023-02-25T16:07:00Z
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@Tatiana_Trifan Thanks for sharing that -- it's very helpful, especially since they link back to their evidence for the various estimates they provide, even if there is a lot of uncertainty in those estimates. #COVID #masking
(DIR) Post #AT2kAucYgqVjEfUHCq by DecaturNature@qoto.org
2023-02-25T16:20:30Z
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@Tatiana_Trifan One thing I found off with the calculator was their 'risk budget' -- their highest category is 10% per year, yet most Americans are probably operating at 30-50% per year and my suspicion is that even very cautious households will only get down to about 10% per year. Their pre-defined scenarios don't include things like classrooms, offices, or dormitories. I tried to estimate the situation in my kid's classroom, and found that simply being in the classroom (fully vaccinated; KN95 mask) it gave them about 4% chance of getting covid over the year. And that did not account for indoor lunch, indoor gym class, pep rallies, etc.
(DIR) Post #AT2kcpUxKTxXSMF9BA by DecaturNature@qoto.org
2023-02-25T16:25:33Z
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@Tatiana_Trifan When The calculator also does not seem to let me calculate risk from members of my household - there's a setting for a 'live in partner', but not for a 4-member household. The categories for the partner's risk were also insufficient -- for some reason the "harm reduction budget" (2000 mC) was not included, and the person with 4 close contacts was given a higher infection rate than 'average person', implying that the average person has fewer than 4 close contacts. The calculator is a nice start, but quickly runs into limits that stop it from being useful to most people. It's a shame that we don't have anything better... but thanks for sharing it anyway.
(DIR) Post #AT2nw2HkJOB0TkukU4 by DecaturNature@qoto.org
2023-02-25T17:02:39Z
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@freemo Good evening Dr. Freemo -- are there any plans to install Mastodon v4 on Qoto? The edit function looks pretty handy. Thanks for maintaining the site! #qoto