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John P.A. Ioannidis warns that “as the coronavirus pandemic takes hold, we are making decisions without reliable data. [4]” A slice:
In the absence of data, prepare-for-the-worst reasoning leads to extreme measures of social distancing and lockdowns. Unfortunately, we do not know [5] if these measures work. School closures, for example, may reduce transmission rates. But they may also backfire if children socialize anyhow, if school closure leads children to spend more time with susceptible elderly family members, if children at home disrupt their parents ability to work, and more. School closures may also diminish the chances of developing herd immunity in an age group that is spared serious disease.
Also writing with good sense on the coronavirus crisis is Cato’s Chris Edwards [6]. See also here [7].
George Will has convinced me to order and read eagerly Bill Bryson’s 2019 book on the human body [8].
David Henderson – inspired in part by Ross Levatter – offers well-earned praise to Amazon [9].
Here’s Marion Elizabeth Rodgers on H.L. Mencken on epidemics and politicians [10].