The Volokh Conspiracy
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Volokh Conspiracy Canceling All In-Person Events, Moving Online for Duration of Coronavirus Epidemic
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Can I get a refund on my ticket?
Any message for our friends that believe that the virus is just a hoax?
They’re very courageous, I’d shake them by the hand, but, you understand…
Most people probably learn more on the internet or tv than they do in classes or meetings anyway. Especially your typical corporate meetings which seem to be engineered to slow down the progress of society.
BTW, is UCLA shutting down too? Its funny how one day we’re laughing at the memes one day and all of a sudden the entire UC system is going offline. Say what you will about how dangerous the virus actually is I don’t remember ever seeing this much disruption.
Well, I’d say we’re going online rather than offline — the classes are being taught, just remotely.
Thanks, we needed that in this time of unjustified panic.
If all the humans die, I guess the dogs and cats will have to take over.
And the bats. On the Internet, nobody knows you’re the plague bat.
Well now I know it’s serious.
Ohhkay well whatever. Online good maybe we’ll find the Tomb of the Lich King Acererak and beat him at Joust.
After the self-quarantines end, you should consider expanding your offerings to include in-person events.
Re-expanding! I remember an ancient meetup in DC, including hearing Sarcastro attended it. I’d love to go to one, if it were anywhere close to me (or vice versa)…
Influenza ‘FluViD’ is combatted in precisely the same way as CoViD-19, what does this commonsensical hysteria say for the future of culture?
Virtual museums, telemedicine, personal isolation suits …
Professor Volokh…You’re doing the right thing. Thank you.
There are like 1K cases in a nation with a 350+ million population of a disease with a fatality rate around 3%.
Why are we panicking?
Click-bait.
The cases are growing; we are nowhere near the peak.
3% is no picnic.
Don’t panic, but don’t pretend this is nothing either. Lots of middle ground between those two things.
I am concerned, Sarcastr0. And you are right….we are nowhere near the peak.
Saw a pretty sober time-delayed fit where every country’s number of cases over time was time-shifted and superimposed over Italy’s first 14 days and the fit was spot-on.
Except for Japan.
“Don’t panic, but don’t pretend this is nothing either. Lots of middle ground between those two things.”
Don’t pretend that canceling shit at this point isn’t panicking.
While some people do think they need toilet paper for the next 16 years, I don’t see all that much actual panic. And you can question whether schools were too quick to react (and I’m sure we’ll all have that debate after this is all over).
But I also understand why a university may be hesitant about having thousands of students from across the country/globe travel to various places (potentially including high-risk areas) and then returning to live in close-quarter living.
I don’t think I’d call of school at this stage, but I won’t scoff at it. It’s also not the 3% that scares people; it’s the 15+% rate among people their parents’ or grandparents’ age.
What part of the 3% overall death rate is attributable to the 15% older person segment death rate?
And are there common characteristics among the people who make up the difference? Subtract that out and what’s left tells us how much a younger, generally healthy individual has to worry.
About death. But not about giving it to someone they know and perhaps love in a more at-risk cohort who then is at a much higher risk.
What the hell is wrong with you? 3% is 3%.
Basically al of it.
Fatality rates among twenty year olds is 0.1%, about the same as influenza (based in diagnosed cases – many more people have it with lesser symptoms and so never get tested to make it into the statistics, meaning the denominator should be a much larger number.).
From what I’ve seen, the focus on interdiction, tracking each incidence as if it were a highly dangerous pathogen causes a sense of false relief when people realize that mortality is 1% to 3% by most estimates. What this misses is that many models say that an eventual infection rate of 40% to 70% is possible, and the present close tracking is an attempt to blunt that surge. Given the lack of testing, incidence is likely far above present numbers. Expect things to get substantially worse stateside over the next month or so; universities reopening after the break are likely in for a rough ride.
I suppose next you’re going to tell us the Volokh Conspiracy Caribbean Cruise is canceled. I was really looking forward to hanging out in the Twelve Inch Pianist lounge!