(no subject)

“We are discouraged from saying “I don’t know” or “I’m not sure.” We regard those expressions as vague, unhelpful, and even evasive. But getting comfortable with “I’m not sure” is a vital step to being a better decision-maker. We have to make peace with not knowing.
Embracing “I’m not sure” is difficult. We are trained in school that saying “I don’t know” is a bad thing. Not knowing in school is considered a failure of learning. Write “I don’t know” as an answer on a test and your answer will be marked wrong.
Admitting that we don’t know has an undeservedly bad reputation.
...
a great quote from physicist James Clerk Maxwell: “Thoroughly conscious ignorance is the prelude to every real advance in science.”

--- Annie Duke. “Thinking in Bets.”

If you can afford it, in most cases you are better off by not knowing and be completely aware of that. This quote could be a good segue into a discussion on Nietzsche's point about the value of truth. Also relates to a change in perspective.

An observation

So far, four countries managed the pandemic well at scale: Taiwan, South Korea, Germany and California. The California case is even more impressive because population testing for the virus is nowhere near the level of other successful countries.

Fucking Moron (tm)

US President Donald Trump has said he will not wear a face mask despite new medical guidance advising Americans to do so.

He could not see himself greeting "presidents, prime ministers, dictators, kings, queens" in the Oval Office while wearing one, he said.

He stressed that the guidance released on Friday was "voluntary".

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52161529

upd: in Japan infections and death rates are much lower than in the US. Partly because their leaders are showing an example of how to behave responsibly during the time of a pandemic.



http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/13269206