Why are you surprised? It’s the mainstream view, and people are looking for unity because the countermeasures that are being attempted rely on it to varying degrees. No authority I’m aware of ever suggested this was a “doomsday” virus by the way, merely that it had the potential to overrun the healthcare systems of even highly developed nations, kills millions, trash the economy etc.
I would say that everyone is entitled to an opinion, but you’ve got to recognise when you’re filing a minority report as well. Mainstream epidemiologists, virologists etc. are not just a bunch of schmucks who are having a go at analysis because they’ve got time on their hands: this is their life’s work. That’s not an argument from authority–we should still scrutinise their findings–but nor is it an automatic condemnation of it. This especially applies when distinguished scientists are commenting outside their own field of expertise (how many people wasted money on megadoses of vitamin C because it was endorsed by Linus Pauling?).
Contrarian wisdom is always appealing, but it is not always right.
I would say that everyone is entitled to an opinion, but you’ve got to recognise when you’re filing a minority report as well. Mainstream epidemiologists, virologists etc. are not just a bunch of schmucks who are having a go at analysis because they’ve got time on their hands: this is their life’s work. That’s not an argument from authority–we should still scrutinise their findings–but nor is it an automatic condemnation of it. This especially applies when distinguished scientists are commenting outside their own field of expertise (how many people wasted money on megadoses of vitamin C because it was endorsed by Linus Pauling?).
Contrarian wisdom is always appealing, but it is not always right.