<story><title>Tribalism comes for pandemic science</title><url>https://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/tribalism-comes-for-pandemic-science</url></story><parent_chain></parent_chain><comment><author>dekhn</author><text>There are times I&amp;#x27;m glad I left health science&amp;#x2F;biology&amp;#x2F;medicine as a field and it&amp;#x27;s interesting to watch people slowly realize just how badly structured the entire human health field is organized (from academic research to research hospitals to profit hospitals to world health organizations) and how all the incentives are messed up.&lt;p&gt;The closer you get in biology to human health, the more ego, tribalism, and assholery you have to deal with. Something about &amp;quot;saving lives&amp;quot; really brings out the intelligent jerks and the sharks.&lt;p&gt;As a contrast, I enjoy working in computing so much more.  The experiments people run are replicable, the code compiles, and people (in general) are far less egotistical and arrogant (still plenty of sharks, though).&lt;p&gt;I&amp;#x27;ve watched enough major paradigm shifts in my own fields to know that embracing humility, admitting your own ignorance, and being open to new ideas is key to the furtherment of science.</text></comment>
<story><title>Tribalism comes for pandemic science</title><url>https://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/tribalism-comes-for-pandemic-science</url></story><parent_chain></parent_chain><comment><author>throwawaysea</author><text>Not to sound alarmist, but recent events have felt like the early warning of a pending collapse of our country. When I saw healthcare workers and officials abandon logic, reason, and evidence to put their weight behind justifying recent mass protests, I really lost a lot of faith. These protests obviously will result in thousands more deaths (much larger in number than unjust police-involved deaths). This is no longer about losing faith in institutions alone, but really about losing faith in fellow citizens who are willfully burying their heads in the sand and willfully acting in bad faith nearly all the time. Of course, there is plenty of blame to hand out for all sides, going back well before recent events and well before COVID-19 itself.&lt;p&gt;My question for HN: what has happened to past societies when they reach this point, where emotions and tribalism cause all sides to hate each other, to talk past each other, to hold each other to unequal standards, to use every last loophole&amp;#x2F;technicality to win through bad faith means, etc.? Have any such societies de-escalated from there to a point of stability again?</text></comment>