What he knows and sees is irrelevant; how he is known and seen is all he seems to care about.

From these were never really experts by el gato malo.  The subheading is mistaking sheep for shepherds.

if you would understand the full scope and pathology of the unending nonsensical performance art that is modern public health, allow me to lay it out in one simple allegory:

here we have brad spellberg, MD:

Click to enlarge.

credentialed and published, self described “healthcare policy expert” and “expert in infectious diseases.”

researcher.

this is precisely the sort of fellah that has been claiming the right to dictate policy and force health choices up others, because “me expert. you listen.”

therefore, it would seem instructive to investigate how dr brad makes his own choices.

the answer does not reassure:

Click to enlarge.

this walking bastion of purported expertise has been too frightened to fly for two years despite functionally zero spread events on planes.

he’s afraid now and possibly mentally unsound due to alleged covid PTSD. (or maybe just likes the performance art of claiming to be so traumatized.)

his move to decide whether to fly:

read some studies? nope.

assess some data? nope.

hey, let’s poll the twitter audience!

seriously?

to call this weak sauce is an insult to even the most feeble of flavorings.

this expert does not trust his own knowledge, gut, or assessment ability.

he needs the approval and acceptance of the herd to get on a plane.

what he knows and sees is irrelevant; how he is known and seen is all he seems to care about.

it’s a social kabuki dance, not science.

Indeed.  More at the link.  

Human capital and institutional trust are critical components of a complex and dynamic nation.  The establishment leaders and institutions have made heavy withdrawals with no returns during the past couple of years.  They said "Trust us" and there was no reason to trust them then and the empirical evidence is now coming in as to how bad their policy recommendations were.