h a l f b a k e r yThe halfway house for at-risk ideas
add, search, annotate, link, view, overview, recent, by name, best, random
news, help, about, links, report a problem
browse anonymously,
or get an account
and write.
register,
|
|
|
Given the massive costs of dealing with communicable diseases it must surely be worthwhile to consider quarantining everyone with a CD and curing it, where possible.
If we shut down the economy of the whole planet, quarantining everyone for a month we would see most of them off. We won't eradicate
all of the readily transmissible diseases, but we will take care of quite a lot of them.
The savings, in the long term, may well be worth it. getting rid of the common cold would be a major boon, to begin with.
If you can't pass it on to someone then neither can they.
Please log in.
If you're not logged in,
you can see what this page
looks like, but you will
not be able to add anything.
Destination URL.
E.g., http://www.coffee.com/
Description (displayed with the short name and URL.)
|
| |
"If we shut down the economy of the whole planet for a month we would see most of them off."
I'm not quite sure what you mean by this, but I presume you're talking about world-wide quarantine. |
|
| |
But humans aren't the only vector and some diseases have long dormant periods. 30 days won't wipe out typhus, AIDS, malaria, syphilis, West Nile, herpes, leprosy, etc.. Perhaps we can convert Kansas into a giant hospice where ill can tend to each other until cures can be found? |
|
| |
Foster Communicable Diseases
What's the cost? |
|
| |
Bring as many people into contact with as many diseases as possible. Fingers crossed, some will survive to breed a race of super immune humans. |
|
| |
[Ub] :sorry couldn't resist, I fully expect some vitriol like 'fingers crossed YOU won't survive'. |
|
| |
[Jinbish], I considered that approach, but realised that it would be little different to vaccination. As there is little you can do to protect against the really nimble bugs, like rhinoviruses and influenza, I opted for the quarantine path. They have a rather short incubation period and a 7-10 day cycle once the host is infected. |
|
| |
[phoenix], I didn't say I was going to take on all communicable diseases. There are a lot of diseases with long latency periods. However, the ones that do the most damage, economically, are the (short latency period) ones we all contract... Colds, measles, chicken pox, influenza... |
|
| |
...and one wonders if it would work at all for something like the common cold which springs up with a new variant each year. |
|
| |
UB, the solution seems even more simple than what you propose -- granted your idea is a viable 'mechanical' solution. |
|
| |
Instead of shutting down the economy (allowing 'cheats jumping the gun' when it starts again torqueing a wake through it) put more money into the economy 'ripening it for those of us who survive. |
|
| |
Simply stop vaccinations and money spent on them.
Maybe? It wouldn't bring the instant gratification that your idea proposes but the hand of death would be less associative to policy makers who lube the economy that you'll want to jump right back into when all is done. |
|
| |
Or is my head in the sand still? |
|
| |
Rapidly mutating, communicable disease producing organisms confer immunity that skips a generation. |
|
| |
[reensure], still, their stealth heading becomes thwarted by a "swiss cheese effect" in a reduction of population centers. |
|
| |
¯hollajam: yepper. I admit I feel uneasy being able to see the consequence of ‘bad times’ in old photos. |
|
| |
Chuck out nearly everything I said here. [UB] I think I get it. I think I do get it now. <pleading> Vaccinations are irrelevant? Nobody is getting *them* anyway? The only effective purge IS to shut down, right? Die off...? Only the savvy survive? Survivors already know where they're meeting when the "economy" starts back? Reduction in population creates more "capacity." CD="starter mix", Yes? Am I even tepid? I beg you, hurl me a crumb if I am. Or an eel skin if you must, your pick...I only need practice observing the 'timing' of these sage trials Wise One! |
|
| |
//There is no cost. It's free!// |
|
| |
//If we shut down the economy of the whole planet, quarantining everyone for a month we would see most of them off.//
|
|
| |
By "most of them" do you mean most of the communicable diseases, or most of the people? You must mean most of the people, because micro-organisms are quite adaptable and resilient, way more so than us mammals anyway. But most people would rather live with communicable diseases than die of starvation during the proposed quarantine. So, I'm not sure where this idea is going to.
|
|
| |
Better idea: the Sick Sniper! |
|
| |
But seriously, folks, there may be an idea here. Just maybe. I didn't say it was a good idea; but an idea, yes. |
|
| |
Suppose even for a moment that this brilliant scheme were effected. There would probably always be a few people getting sick. Worse yet, some people carry disease but do not show symptoms, like with West Nile, for example. Pinpointing every sick person would be a joke. |
|
| |
Now, imagine that you've created a society of lily-livered, low-tolerating people. And then you've got hospice centers filled with high-potency bacterias and viruses and toe jam foot fungus and what-not. |
|
| |
All it takes is a little bacteria leak to really mess things up. Not that the national stores of Anthrax that currently exist aren't a threat as it is. |
|
| |
What scares me the most is the idea of 'starvation' during quarantine, self inflicted death might be kinder. |
|
| |
You wanna take this anthropomorphic lovefest somewhere else? |
|
| |
The idea is simply to segregate people from one and another for a sufficient period to allow the cessation of most of the infectious bacterial vectors that afflict humans and cause economic disruption. |
|
| |
There's no assertion that it will work for everyone.
There's no assertion it will work for every disease.
There's no attempt at eugenics by natural selection.
There's no real chance of starvation.
|
|
| |
West Nile disease is a virulent meningoencephalitis. There's not much you can do to prevent transmission as the vector of transmission is mosquito bites, probably Culex species. It can be transmitted, possibly, by organ transplantation. |
|
| |
Given that WNV has killed more people in the US this summer than BSE/vCJD killed during the 12-15 years of the "Mad Cow" scare, I am surprised the US government hasn't declared war on mosquitoes. |
|
| |
Boy, UB did_You_pick the wrong jest of my posts here... |
|
| |
//No real chance of starvation...// |
|
| |
Are you playing ostrich? No transportation to deliver goods... Oh, Am I supposed to back up here? Everybody stocks their shelves 6 months ahead...Wait, there doesn't get to be a "purge" shut down because the entire world enters the next world war fighting over the perceived apocalypse...<shows canines> |
|
| |
UB, Since you didn't have any further enlightenment for me after I posted commentary on stopping vaccinations, I assumed two things:
|
|
| |
1) stopping vaccinations was actually a better idea, over all and it effectively ended your idea's discussion. |
|
| |
2)The other was that your void of commentary was indicative to being off trail... CD was an irrelevant mention I took to be a clue. I thought maybe your were on another cloud and talking about the bakery's "gene pool" <holds 'tail' high> |
|
| |
UnaBubba: You really are serious about this, aren't you? I will not add to the list of reasons why, even if you could do this massive quarantine thing, it not only would fail to have the desired effect, but would result in massive disaster. All is one - the bugs, and you and me, the good and the bad together, mingled inseparably. Or such is my view. But if you cannot live with this, may I suggest that you isolate/quarantine your lone self entirely. You may even choose a few select other sentient creatures to inhabit your quarantined area with you. Some people have done this. Of course their are costs, but they would not be nearly as great as the cost of imposing this scheme on the whole world. Now, where was I. Oh, yes ...
Darling hollajam, let it be you and me then, among the seals and the icebergs, trembling with cold and delight, our lips frozen together in an eternal kiss.
|
|
| |
//WNV has killed more people in the US this summer than BSE/vCJD killed during the 12-15 years of the "Mad Cow// |
|
| |
[UB] You are almost comparing apples to oranges here. Two very different modes of operandi with different time factors effecting policy |
|
| |
// Darling hollajam, let it be you and me then, ... our lips frozen together in an eternal kiss. // |
|
| |
UB, (completely disregarding anything everyone else has said to this point), I'm not sure that the results of shutting down the world machine for a month are going to be exactly wonderful, either. Seems logisitically impossible to me, first off, and even if it were possible, you're opening the door for uncooperatives to take advantage of the opportunity. What a better time for a terrorist attack, for example. |
|
| |
Overlooking that for a moment, could the planet survive a month-long economic shutdown? I just can't see how it could. There's a certain amount of interaction that has to happen. |
|
| |
What do we do with quarantined people who need to seek emergency medical treatment? Do the staff at the nuclear power facility have to work the whole month through and no go home? Will police and armed forces patrolling the streets ensuring that people remain in quarantine throw the whole experiment off by exchanging germs among themselves? |
|
| |
Waugs, Your points are exactly why stopping vaccinations is the better choice in this hypothetical game. Economies are injured by cessation. Money that would have gone to vaccines now 'pumps up economies' at the same time that the absence of vaccine provides almost the same kind of mechanism of purge. This is really morbid. It is not reflective of any political siding I have personally. It is the expression of a bare bones tit for tat hypothetical argument. |
|
| |
I completely fail to see how stopping vaccinations does anything to accomplish this idea's goal. Seems to me it works against it. |
|
| |
Vaccinations perpetuate people. They are a means of artificial inflation for populations. Without them there would be a natural decline in population. The effect may not be evenly distributed and it would take longer than UB's idea but it preserves economies and with a stronger gene pool for those countries that survive. The biggest point of all is that it is *natural. No countries president or its constituents have to bear the label of barbarian... |
|
| |
I didn't say I was going to stop vaccinations. You can't vaccinate against the common cold. |
|
| |
The idea is to suffer some short term pain (a month of economic inactivity) to eradicate the common diseases (with short incubation periods). The longer term economic benefits may well completely outweigh the economic cost. |
|
| |
Instead, several twits have focussed on the possibility of starvation of those who don't stock up on sufficient groceries to make it through a month of isolation from each other. How hard can that be? |
|
| |
There will certainly be people requiring medical attention. If that is the case then they need simply phone or email a healthcare service. Hospitals usually have the capability to segregate infectious persons. |
|
| |
Family units could be kept together, as any bugs they have would run their course during the quarantine period. |
|
| |
(terms of endearment suppressed in deference to the tender sensibilities of fellow halfbakers) hollajam - You're basically arguing against public health care in general. I can't go with that. Allowing "nature" (whatever that is) to cause terrible suffering, when we have the capacity to disable a specific source of a specific suffering, in this case to disable a virus by vaccinating people, is more cruel than shooting the people outright, and ending their misery quickly. There are plenty of ways to reduce population growth, humane ones and cruel ones. Maybe it's sentimental of me, but I hope people will stick to the humane ones.
It is silly to argue with UnaBubba here, because his idea is impossible from beginning to end. Maybe you are taking an extreme position to balance his extremity, like on a seesaw. I think you should just hop off the seesaw.
Over and out. |
|
| |
As soon as this malign game plan becomes public information there will be panic and hording. All for the benifit of eradicating ...a ...cold?! |
|
| |
Stopping vaccinations will lower population densities. Especially in the countries where the 'swine' virus (insult to it intended ) jumps its host like kids on candy on Halloween. |
|
| |
El Conecho, the idea is halfbaked. It's meant to be improbable, unworkable and flawed. |
|
| |
I still think a month of economic inactivity is going to wreak too much havoc to justify this. So you need to speed things up. The solution is to round up and shoot anyone who has a communicable disease, and torch the corpses. This would accomplish both your objective, UB, and hollow jam's (stopping the perpetuation of people). |
|
| |
[waugs] - that's baked. (Ouch, inadvertent...) Just requires a political view of what constitutes the disease. (or cultural / racial / religious / other) |
|
| |
waugs, I admit my comment was below the belt. I don't even know your gender. But it was a remark born out of your creative suggestion to shoot those with comminicable disease. Your proposal -- you set the first example... |
|
| |
Waugs, the month of economic activity can be borne now, or in bits and pieces, later. |
|
| |
I'm sure that, given the chance, most of us would rather participate in a Brave New World, wouldnn't we? One where the common cold was a thing of the past. |
|
| |
I've got a stinking cold right now. I wish it was in the past. |
|
| |
But I'm glad I have it. Its the common cold (or another disease like it) that will save us when the martians attack. |
|
| |
Rods, I needed that laugh. Thanks. |
|
| |
I have been thinking along somewhat similar lines for a while - this idea isn't as radical as mine though (Remember "Silent RUnning" ??). I wasn't just thinking of trying to deal with communicable diseases, though .... watch this space (intentional pun). |
|
| |
Couldn't we all just spend a month in giant hamster balls? Similar effect, much more fun, and the massive drive to design, construct and maintain said balls acts to boost, rather than depress the global economy. Not to mention the jobs created in the door-widening industries. |
|
| |