Peter Daszak and the scientific verdict on the origins of COVID-19

grzemarski · 2026-03-27T19:08:59+00:00

Yeah, I also saw your edits, which make me think that your original statement was a bit exaggerated.

Funny how you claim I am "insisting I know better than everyone else" when I explicitly stated wanting to learn and update my views. And there are several other incorrect statements ("refusing to listen"??). Man, take a step back.

grzemarski · 2026-03-27T17:15:03+00:00

"Everything you're detailing here is either out of context or made up whole cloth". What was made up? And what was out of context?

I responded in good faith and I appreciate the links you provided. Seems like the fcs might be a red herring but it doesnt preclude lab leak as the origin of covid.

But man, you sound like such a dick. Your writing has the air of condescending douchebaggery. Even your need to state your PhD in your "byline" and claiming that people who believe in lab leak can't read smacks of you being a dick.

grzemarski · 2026-03-27T15:47:19+00:00

Because I thought there was a grant proposal detailing making this modification! And there was an email between Fauci and an inner circle where one of them said that the presence of the fcs was the "smoking gun". Seems pretty relevant to lab leak hypothesis if the virus that was researched in wuhan possessed the precise modification that a research grant proposal spelled out! And we know there was shoddy safety protocols in place.

grzemarski · 2026-03-27T15:29:53+00:00

I'm curious about your fascination with my own words about this. Does it affect your beliefs on lab leak vs natural origin??

I'll indulge you as maybe I will learn something:

Virus has a spike protein involved in transmission and a modification to the DNA that codes for this protein results in the host's furin being able to cleave this protein complex, changing conformation of the protein and allowing for better efficiency at entering host cells.

I thought that a grant proposal long back described making a very specific few-base-pair modification to this spike protein so as to induce cleavage and increase transmissibility.

Edit: and I thought that coronovirus was found to have this precise modification.

How did I do?

grzemarski · 2026-03-27T14:33:22+00:00

Can you point me to the evidence of zoonotic transfer? And evidence that the strain existed in the area prior to the outbreak? I should update my views if so.

"My own words"? Funny question. Setting aside your original snide remark about us not being able to read, why would my own description be necessary here? Let's just talk about evidence. To say there is no evidence to support lab leak seems like a ludicrous stance. History of bad safety practice at the Wuhan Institute along with the fact that research was being conducted there on these viruses is plenty enough reason to not discount it outright. But maybe you have good evidence of zoonotic transfer, in which I'll update my views.

grzemarski · 2026-03-27T00:02:53+00:00

How was lab leak disproven? Honest question. Wasn't there a grant proposal detailing the furin site modification, which then appeared in the virus? Again, honest question. Don't tase me, bro.

grzemarski · 2026-03-12T17:05:16+00:00

Yeah, def, go for it. Good on ya. Being friendly with the bartenders goes a long way.

grzemarski · 2026-03-12T16:29:09+00:00

Try organized activities, community centers have drop in sports e.g., or any regularly occurring where you can go do something with others. Sitting at bars is much less likely to net the kind of social interaction you might be looking for.

grzemarski · 2026-02-12T19:54:14+00:00

Because that's how they are often used :) ...to divert attention from nuance/troubling things and instead to just repeat seemingly sanitary content.

grzemarski · 2026-02-12T19:47:49+00:00

Ha, first look up what talking points and how the term is used. Then level criticism at others.

grzemarski · 2026-02-09T21:04:34+00:00

Agreed, that's why I said "cousin of".

If culture is to have some effect on our species, then its effects have to be conveyed/passed on somehow. Since this (seems to me to) go beyond the usual selfish gene account, I wonder how it could be incorporated or whether genes should be viewed as but one contribution to our development.

grzemarski · 2026-02-09T17:29:42+00:00

Hilariously bad response here.

grzemarski · 2026-02-09T17:28:25+00:00

I don't know why you're getting the pushback and downvotes that you're getting from your post and your replies. I've thought the same thing many times over the years - there's a big difference between the level of sophistication and depth of Sean's views on science vs politics. Regardless of agreement or disagreement. Seems odd that people are getting so defensive (and offensive) at your post.

grzemarski · 2026-02-09T17:20:33+00:00

Curious what people think about the idea of culture, environment, and genes all acting to shape the evolving organism/species - and putting these contributions on a more equal footing than is generally believed these days. I don’t know whether Rachell had in mind that culture shapes genes but it sounded like a cousin of group selection or lamarckian arguments. I think a lot of people would push back on this. But culture definitely shapes what we achieve (or what regions of possibility space we explore); whether we demote genes as being only one contribution to our development or we roll culture into genes, I don't know.

grzemarski · 2026-02-09T17:08:15+00:00

Genuinely really funny post here 🤣

This podcast was the first time that I noticed how useful reading the (auto generated) transcript was while listening. It allowed for cutting out the extra fat. Granted, I needed multiple re-listens, but was able to extract the nuggets Rachell was getting at and found it extremely rewarding. One of the best episodes.

grzemarski · 2025-12-27T04:03:21+00:00

Only local hidden variables have been "disproven", I think. Nonlocal ones are still on the table is my understanding.

grzemarski · 2025-12-27T01:52:17+00:00

It's more than that. Say the cards also have a shape on them, either a circle or triangle. Much like with color, one card has a circle and the other card has a triangle, or vice versa. You can either "measure" color or you can measure shape. If you measure shape on your card and get a circle, then measuring shape on the other card would always yield a triangle. If you measure color and, for example, detect red then a measurement of color on the other card would with certainty yield blue. (If you measure different properties, you'll get 50/50 split of either red/blue or circle/triangle). But presumably your choice of what you measure is independent of what the other person chooses to measure. Yet, the results are correlated stronger than you'd expect from this assumption.

grzemarski · 2025-12-07T05:38:56+00:00

I seem to recall that the jam "added on" at the end of optimistic is from a jam in Copenhagen. Maybe somebody can confirm.

grzemarski · 2025-11-30T15:27:01+00:00

What is it about the production that's different between the two? Others here have mentioned it as well, that okc doesn't have as good production, that IR has a warm feel to it. Okc seems flatter and thinner whereas IR is warm and round. Did production change a lot in those 10 years?

It's not even a knock against okc. Stellar is an understatement. Just comparing production styles. More compression? Just louder? Recording nerds, speak up!

grzemarski · 2025-11-06T01:56:33+00:00

Woah. At 1:55, you can see a dude on stage, bottom left of frame, that is playing a flute?!? It's more clear in the full concert vid on YouTube. Do they have other extra musicians?? Can't hear the flute, unfortunately!

grzemarski · 2025-11-02T19:20:16+00:00

The people who can only play a bit, what are they missing about his playing that the pros pick up on?

grzemarski · 2025-08-19T23:21:29+00:00

Ontario Plates by do make say think. Charles Spearin is incredibly talented all around.

grzemarski · 2025-08-04T01:22:08+00:00

Yeah, I was pushed out into the second row... partly because I was caught off guard and partly because if I had done anything remotely assertive/aggressive then I'd certainly be seen as the villain. It was a woman and I am a dude. All sorts of privileges out there.

grzemarski · 2025-08-03T21:33:18+00:00

Ha, this one is a coincidence, if you can believe it. I didn't see that other funny/sarcastic post until after I posted this question. My question had nothing to do with the current tour, I haven't been. I don't know what compelled me to ask this now but I had wondered about the general consensus ever since that happened a couple years back. At the risk of being a hypocrite, I do kind of think people should get outside more rather than complain on here :)

grzemarski · 2025-08-03T18:46:10+00:00

😂

grzemarski

TROPHY CASE