D&D and the rising pandemic

[Ryujin]

Given that I didn't use the word "know"...

Translated from the "grok"

 

[MarkB]

(So since this is technically also a D&D thread....)

Is anyone finding that groups are shying away from "plague" as a theme in games they're playing or otherwise aware of?

I have no input on the matter, as I'm not actively playing. I'm just curious about others' experiences.

I haven't seen any such games put forward in the latest round of games at our local club (all still being played online).

There was a weekly Let's Play RPG show set in a post-apocalyptic world which I'd been enjoying watching on Twitch, right up to the point where they introduced fighting a serious plague as a major plot-point a couple of months ago. I stopped watching after about an episode of that, and haven't caught up with it since.

 

[NotAYakk]

Must have taken the course "How to Lie in Statistics: 101."

Incompetence is also a possibility.

You make a graph and you assign highest values to red, you'd get the same effect.

Of course, this is really really bad incompetence.

 

[Umbran]

Translated from the "grok"

Ah, I see. Well, then my point does actually stand. Because "grok" is not just "know". It is, "understand in fullness".

Because grokking this is fullness is recognizing the impact of hundreds of thousands of deaths on their own prospects, which are not looking so hot right now.

 

[Umbran]

Want some good news? Here's some for you. Hopeful news, at least:

New published research from Renssalaer Ploytech Institute suggests we might, just might, have an effective treatment for Covid-19. Covid-19 has a "protein spike" that it uses to bind to human cells to infect them. New study in vitro shows that we already have a drug that binds to that protein spike several orders of magnitude more strongly than human cells do. This drug is common, safe, cheap-like-water, already mass-produced, well-understood (known mechanisms, minimal and well-known side effects and dosing), and already approved by the FDA for its normal use: Heparin.

Next step would be to study in cell culture (I strongly suspect this is already underway). If it works in cell culture, since it is a very well-understood drug, getting into trials as an off-label use could be very quick.

Common FDA-Approved Drug May Effectively Neutralize Virus That Causes COVID-19

 

[NotAYakk]

Oxford study phase 1 trial results are being published.

They are doing phase 2 and phase 3 in parallel. Phase 1 is "cherry picked humans, testing for negative side effects". Phase 2 is "demographically representative humans, testing for negative side effects". Phase 3 is "50 50 placebo vaccine, see if more placebo people get infected".

They are UK based, and UK victory over Covid 19 is slowing them a bit; they are extending the Phase 3 trial to a few hot spots (India, USA).

...

Also, common immunosuppressent drug reducing serious cases (needing vents) by by 79%.

 

[Theo R Cwithin]

It's so nice to hear good news now and then!

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Also, aforementioned Llama/Alpaca/Camel blood derived therapies also still showing promise!

COVID-19: Llama-based antibody treatment 'neutralises' virus

Researchers hope the antibodies could eventually be developed as a treatment for patients with severe COVID-19.

www.sciencefocus.com

 

[Ryujin]

Ah, I see. Well, then my point does actually stand. Because "grok" is not just "know". It is, "understand in fullness".

Because grokking this is fullness is recognizing the impact of hundreds of thousands of deaths on their own prospects, which are not looking so hot right now.

Honestly I don't see the difference, except when it comes to quibbling.

 

[NotAYakk]

I know g_64 is big. I do not grok how big it is.

I know how to bake cookies. I do not grok baking cookies.

I know covid 19 risks millions of deaths. I do not grok what that means. The scale is just too big.