[aslyfox]

this article points out what appears to be obvious to me but perhaps not to everyone

[ it is presented, not to argue for or against the method chosen to get a company to make a needed piece of medical equipment but to inform that our need does not create speed ]

warning, it isn't a happy tale:

. . . Our ventilator supply is inadequate for three reasons. First, with the advent of vaccines and antibiotics, health-care systems are no longer so beset with the severe periodic epidemics that used to be a fact of urban life, so as we’ve built up modern hospital systems, we’ve been able to run them very close to capacity. This saves money, but it necessarily means that when we get hit by a major epidemic, we don’t have as much staff or equipment as we’d like.

Second, this time we aren’t just having a local epidemic, but a pandemic that is striking everywhere in the world — and all at once. So we are competing for ventilators with dozens of other countries that want them just as badly.

Third, the United States spent the past two decades outsourcing manufacturing capacity, which makes it more difficult for us to boost production to meet this crisis. . . .

The Defense Production Act does not enable General Motors to retool its plant, design a machine or school its workforce on making an unfamiliar product, any faster . . . Nor did command-and-control efforts during World War II, by the way; it took considerable time to ramp up that war production, and it will take a bit of time to get ready for this battle, too. . . .

Why the Defense Production Act won?t get us ventilators any faster - The Washington Post

there is no magical light switch folks

unfortunately

[bertwert]

I dropped out of high school twice, started college at 15, then dropped out of college at 17 to go to work.

Still, I am certain my educational and intellectual skill levels are far and above that of my recently graduated grandson. The boy is 19 now, has a high school diploma, and (so far) one quarter of community college. He wants to go into the Army Reserves, but failed the intitial entrance test. A very basic test, designed to assess basic information intelligence and reasoning, I breezed right through the online practice test without studying.

The grandson failed after weeks of studying, and did so poorly on the real test at the recruitment office they sent him away.

So much for a high school education, eh?

I think there is a big degradation in base level education over time as well. Not just between countries. Not long until it's Big Brother time and such...

[bertwert]

Thanks for asking. She had a brief stay at the hospital with severe breathing problems but is a whole lot better now. They're still in isolation at home. With any luck they should be allowed to leave the house in a week or so.

This virus isn't very predictable in its behaviour. She's in her 20ies with no known "underlying conditions" yet got quite ill, while our son has shown no symptoms at all (I'm assuming he's infected even though he hasn't been tested).

Good to here that she's recovering. That's been quite a while then, it was near the beginning of March she was getting symptoms, if I recall correctly.

[photoptimist]

Thanks for asking. She had a brief stay at the hospital with severe breathing problems but is a whole lot better now. They're still in isolation at home. With any luck they should be allowed to leave the house in a week or so.

I'm so glad to hear this and hope that you, your family, and everyone remains healthy!

This virus isn't very predictable in its behaviour. She's in her 20ies with no known "underlying conditions" yet got quite ill, while our son has shown no symptoms at all (I'm assuming he's infected even though he hasn't been tested).

There several reasons why this varies. One big issue is the extent of exposure. If a person inhales 1 virus particle, they can become infected but it takes time for that one particle to replicate enough to cause illness. Thus, their immune system has more time to detect the infection and fight it. By contrast, if a person inhales 1,000,000 virus particles, they tend to get much sicker, much faster because heavy exposure gives the virus a head-start. This is probably why "healthy" healthcare providers die from this.

Second, the immune system is a fickle beast! Ironically, some diseases (such as the flu) make the young sicker because their young, strong immune system over-reacts. Flu does this. COVID-19 does not seem to do this for most young people but maybe it does for some. (E.g., it's analogous to severe allergies -- most people can eat peanuts without getting sick but some people have such a severe immune system response to peanuts that they die.)

[savoche]

Good to here that she's recovering. That's been quite a while then, it was near the beginning of March she was getting symptoms, if I recall correctly.

Thanks, yes, you're quite right. She got the first symptoms three weeks ago, some 8-10 days after she got infected (in Austria).

[bertwert]

Thanks, yes, you're quite right. She got the first symptoms three weeks ago, some 8-10 days after she got infected (in Austria).

That's a little scary how long it can have you for... and the time before showing symptoms as well really demonstrates how important social distancing is.

[normhead]

I think there is a big degradation in base level education over time as well. Not just between countries. Not long until it's Big Brother time and such...

People don't listen to teachers.
People believe they deserve things because they pay money for teacher's salaries.
Teachers have been saying since forever, if you dilute the curriculum so everyone will pass, the results become meaningless.
The universities have been complaining forever, kids with high scores in high school aren't ready for base level university courses.

AN eduction system designed to please voters will probably never work.

But parents continue to say "we pay for it, we should get the results we want". No one says we want a dumbed down education program, until one of their kids doesn't make the cut... then it's the teachers fault, and it will be OK if we dumb things down.

My high school in 1967, 8 classes of grade nines, 1 class of grade 13s. Almost 90% of students left school before graduation. This was seen as more and more of a problem, I could have my choice of universities with a 62% average though it had to be closer to 80% to get into med school. The level of the talent hasn't changed, we just slid where the pass line is.

The most serious consequence however, is that the number of average students in advanced level courses has really dumbed down what teachers can teach. If you don't have your dimwits engaged, there's going to be serious trouble. We used to have students winning the admiration of their M.A graduate teachers. We've punished the above average kids to accommodate the average..

My daughter graduated without a mark under 95% in high school, but had to do remedial math in her engineering course. Nuf said.

[beholder3]

Some are unable to grasp "exponential growth" but more are unwilling to worry about something that isn't bad right here and right now.

They seem to hope for an apex in about 21 days in the US.
Doubling every 3 days. Means apex expected at 128x the current level.
Thats 10 million infected.

[bertwert]

People don't listen to teachers.
People believe they deserve things because they pay money for teacher's salaries.
Teachers have been saying since forever, if you dilute the curriculum so everyone will pass, the results become meaningless.
The universities have been complaining forever, kids with high scores in high school aren't ready for base level university courses.

AN eduction system designed to please voters will probably never work.

But parents continue to say "we pay for it, we should get the results we want". No one says we want a dumbed down education program, until one of their kids doesn't make the cut... then it's the teachers fault, and it will be OK if we dumb things down.

My high school in 1967, 8 classes of grade nines, 1 class of grade 13s. Almost 90% of students left school before graduation. As this was seen as more and more of a problem, I could have my choice of universities with a 62% average it had to be closer to 80% to get into med school. The level of the talent hasn't changed, we just slid where the pass line is.

The most serious consequence however, is that the number of average students in advanced level courses has really dumbed own what teachers can teach. If you don't have your dimwits engaged, there's going to be serious trouble. We used to have students winning the admiration of their M.A graduate teachers. We've punished the above average kids to accommodate the average..

My daughter graduated without a mark under 95% in high school, but had to do remedial math in her engineering course. Nuf said.

Tell me about it. Teaching to the lowest level means that the brighter students learnt more on their own time than in school. I wasn't ever challenged in high school. I never studied. Never did homework. Highest academic marks in the school. Post secondary is going to kill me.

[aslyfox]

Tell me about it. Teaching to the lowest level means that the brighter students learnt more on their own time than in school. I wasn't ever challenged in high school. I never studied. Never did homework. Highest academic marks in the school. Post secondary is going to kill me.

my son went to a parochial school until high school

I attended a meeting for parents with incoming freshman

the Vice Principal and the Head Guidance Counselor for Freshmen both advised against having the students from taking " advance courses "

because they would be expected to do home work

his parochial school advised to take advance courses or he would be bored

even the advance courses, in some cases, were just repeating what he had learned at his parochial school

[savoche]

I wasn't ever challenged in high school. I never studied. Never did homework.

Been there, done that.

Highest academic marks in the school.

That's a claim I can't make I did quite well, though.

Post secondary is going to kill me.

At Uni the first year was mostly plain sailing, but the more advanced courses gave me quite a rude awakening

[Racer X 69]

I feel so . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .


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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . socially distant.

[BigMackCam]

I feel so . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

socially distant.

We're right next door to each other, virtually speaking, with the magic of the internet. Come round and have a virtual beer, Racer, why don't you?

[Racer X 69]

We're right next door to each other, virtually speaking, with the magic of the internet. Come round and have a virtual beer, Racer, why don't you?

Alright then.





I'll be 'round straight away.

[timb64]

I was going to say exponential has too many syllables in it. I think you were aiming too high when to took aim at lacking arithmetic.

That reminds of a joke voted into the top ten at a recent Edinburgh Festival

“I often confuse Americans and Canadians........with long words”