No evidence for increased transmissibility from recurrent mutations in SARS-CoV-2?

[thoughtful (Valerie (non-scientist))]

@Mercer

Real scientists carefully qualify their conclusions.

Thank you. I see that. I’m not a scientist, but I suppose I should act like one on a science forum.

@Mercer

Millions of human lives are at stake.

I’ve already said that’s why I care about this topic and why I care whether scientists are getting it right. I guess I was reading about that mutation before, without realizing until now it’s the same one we’re discussing.

@thoughtful

Both of these things (our genetics and how they evolve and the genetics of diseases and how they evolve) have massive implications for health. At this point, I probably care equally about the origins debate as I do about how much more of jump we could gain in knowledge if we knew more about evolution if we’re understanding it wrong. It looks stalled out to me when I read articles in the news such as this one. Probably studying all the mutations of SARS-CoV-2 will help.

I’ve changed my mind since then. I actually care about the science more now. There’s lots of ways God can change people’s mind about origins, but science can only be changed by scientists.