D&D and the rising pandemic

[Dannyalcatraz]

Additional to the trailer, the premise is that stupid people breed like rabbits and smart people are more measured and cautious, so natural selection works against intelligence.

So, that fails a bit of a sniff test in several ways, but, whatever.

Yeah.

To get there, you start with average family size decreasing as annual household income increases (statistically proven in the USA,) and then conflate intelligence and earnings (not causally linked at all).

 

[FitzTheRuke]

So, that fails a bit of a sniff test in several ways, but, whatever.

I don't know. I mean, long-term, sure, it fails. But short-term, in a society that features that very scenario (with "smart" people choosing to not have kids while "stupid" people have truckloads) - it does cause for some unfortunate short-term "evolution". (An oxymoron, of course!)

On the MAIN topic, our Provincial Government is bringing back mandatory indoor masking tomorrow, which will be good for my store because I've been getting tired of arguing with people over it. (We kept mandatory masks in my store in spite of "mandatory" being lifted for "recommended" - a distinction that caused many anti-maskers to declare that masks were "over") But now with Delta on the Rise, we're back to square whatever.

The more interesting news is the announcement that they are making a smartphone app for proof-of-vaccination. As of September 3, you will have to PROVE vaccination to be allowed into Restaurants, Theatres, Sporting Events, etc.

You can imagine how well that has gone down with the Canadians who take their social cues from watching too much American TV...

 

[Zardnaar]

62 cases today. On the plus side it's not exponential growth but haven't flattened to curve yet.

Lockdown on 1 case up to 210 now so that 1 was just the first one found.

Covid-19 outbreak: 20,000 contacts identified

More than 20,000 contacts in the Auckland outbreak have now been identified, Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield has confirmed.

www.rnz.co.nz

 

[Umbran]

It's not a documentary, it's a comedy

So, the thread's pretty solidly founded in getting people accurate medical science information. I really don't care if it is a comedy, pointing out its flawed biology is pretty on-message for this discussion.

 

[Retreater]

So I guess GenCon is still happening? (Just thinking about this because some of my friends have tickets.)
At this point, I haven't played D&D in person since March 2020. Our one and only in-person game day was a couple boardgames in the early summer.
We're looking at postponing our wedding reception again, from November (the original date was going to be April 2020).
Anybody got hope to share?

 

[Umbran]

I don't know. I mean, long-term, sure, it fails. But short-term

Natural selection isn't a short-term process.

, in a society that features that very scenario (with "smart" people choosing to not have kids while "stupid" people have truckloads) - it does cause for some unfortunate short-term "evolution".

So, you mistake natural selection for cultural norms, and are, I think, making loose use of "stupid" such that it confuses the issue.

Most of the people we are ever so tempted to call stupid (even I fall to the temptation now and again) are of perfectly normal intellectual potential. We, as a nation and culture, have allowed that potential to go untrained and untapped. They are "stupid" because we who should have known better have allowed them to fall through the cracks, and left them vulnerable to manipulation.

 

[GreyLord]

For those of you in places where they are have quarantines and such still going on, be grateful that they have that at least.

In my area they refuse to test anyone unless they are at the hospital, no one tells anyone if any of the students test positive, and nothing is going to happen except to treat it as nothing happened, even if teachers and students start dying of it, they are hard set on treating Covid-19 as if it's not happening.

They are not going to quarantine, and I think they've outlawed masks being mandated at the school, as well as dozens of other rules to try to pretend there is no Covid-19 anymore.

Worst of the worst situations here where I'm at.

At least I got vaccinated, that may be my only protection overall from the mass insanity in my area.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

Natural selection isn't a short-term process.

So, you mistake natural selection for cultural norms, and are, I think, making loose use of "stupid" such that it confuses the issue.

Most of the people we are ever so tempted to call stupid (even I fall to the temptation now and again) are of perfectly normal intellectual potential. We, as a nation and culture, have allowed that potential to go untrained and untapped. They are "stupid" because we who should have known better have allowed them to fall through the cracks, and left them vulnerable to manipulation.

I'm not mistaking anything for anything. I didn't create the joke. There's a reason why it's a tongue-in-cheek "theory". The point is only that the "intellectual" is NOT breeding, while the "dumb hick" is having large families, and the "reverse-darwinism" joke is there, wrong or not. It's not supposed to be taken absolutely literally.

Personally, I think the joke is elitist... but I still find it somewhat amusing.

 

[Retreater]

At least I got vaccinated, that may be my only protection overall from the mass insanity in my area.

That's what we've got here too. And our local hospital has 20% of their ventilators with fully vaccinated people. We're doing our best, cancelling every plan we can. My wife is trying to get a job to work from home.
Stuff's bad, folks. Be careful.

 

[Umbran]

So I guess GenCon is still happening?

Ugh. I look at the Sturgis Rally, and the state of South Dakota now, and shudder.

GenCon (and, in fact, every convention) is in a pickle. They've booked dates, and signed some very expensive contracts. For many organizations, having done that, cancelling the convention simply isn't an option. If the Governors of the States in which they occur don't take action that forces the contracts to be void, the organizer's are on the hook for that money. It stinks.

Anybody got hope to share?

The Massachusetts Board of Education has voted to allow the Education Commissioner to institute a mask mandate for students K-12, at least until October. The mandate is contingent on the vaccination rate in the school - if a school can demonstrate that 80% of the students and staff are vaccinated, then those who are vaccinated may be allowed to skip masking. Those who remain unvaccinated will need to keep wearing masks.

Our Governor has put forth a mandate that all state workers be vaccinated by mid-October. The legislature is working on authorizing paid leave to allow those employees to take a couple days to get the vaccine and deal with side effects (and the state budget has a surplus - we can afford to give them the days). A couple of unions are giving some pushback, but it doesn't look like they'll have much public support.

Which is to say, not everywhere is full of stupid. That's a source of hope.