Listen to the experts...?

About two weeks ago, a world-famous blogger encouraged everyone to listen to the experts due to the escalating COVID-19 crises. I feel this is a splendid piece of advice, not only because that blogger is yours truly, but also since listening to those who know the most is more often than not the logical thing to do. The problem is how to pick the right experts. How should we know who to listen to?

The Finnish government is led by a 34-year-old woman. She was brought up by her mother and her lesbian partner. She has made a quick and successful career in the Social Democratic Party and is now the youngest serving state leader in the world. As you can imagine, some Finns feel a bit uncomfortable concerning the facts above. One political expert even claimed that: THIS WOMAN KNOWS NOTHING!

In a sense, this is probably true. Prime Minister Sanna Marin has a master's degree in Administrative Science, but when it comes to infectious diseases and pandemics, she arguably knows nothing. Her job, however, is not to read, but to lead. And so she has, even though her style is quite different from other leaders. She has been articulate and factful, advisers rarely need to be brought in to specify what she actually meant by her tweets and statements. She also did the unthinkable when she admitted to a few mistakes.

One of the institutions that give her government recommendations is called THL: the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare. Yes, I know it sounds terrible. In Finnish, the name sounds a little less like a Socialistic revolution waiting to happen, but not by much. Even more reasons for the Finnish MAGA people to hyperventilate.

Like in any crisis, the government and their official experts have been heavily criticized. They didn't take it seriously and are doing too little too late! This is what a medical radiologist proclaimed on the official COVID-19 channel called Facebook. Perhaps he knows? He is, after all, a doctor, and maybe his 10 years of experience in analyzing X-rays and CT scans makes him the lifeline in the dark. A few medical professionals accuse the government of panicking and overreacting. What both sides can agree upon is that the politicians and their experts are IDIOTS!

Regardless of expertise, doctors seem to disagree. Perhaps we should listen to the millionaire banker instead? Maybe he has a point in his claim that medical doctors are so indoctrinated to save lives that they cannot make the tough decisions to cut the rope and drop the dead beat that is taking us all down. Looking at his data, it is clear that most of us should immediately get back to normal life to save the economy. Sure, people will die, but the cure can not be worse than the disease!

Investors are good with numbers and risk estimations, they are used in making tough decisions which seem immoral to the rest of us. It is heartbreaking to adjust our resources by comparing dollars vs. human lives, but it needs to be done. Maybe the doctors and the fearmongering media prevent us from accepting reality?

And then we have the laymen like my friend who begged America to take the virus seriously in a long and eloquent post. To be honest, he is not really my friend, but his wife is a Unicorn in my chart, which makes me prone to listen to him. Apparently, not enough Americans know his wife, and he soon felt the need to apologize for overreacting. A week later, the US had taken the lead in confirmed infections; due to Trump's efficient and tremendous testing, but still.

You need to go down one more tier in the expertise pyramid to get to the good stuff. This is where the level of academic education becomes less dense, here claims are often made based on emotions and religion instead of scientific data. Mr. Braxton from Alabama proved his point by asking his Facebook friends if ANYONE knew ANYBODY who had the virus. No one knew; end of the discussion, the COVID-19 is a hoax.

We have Muslims walking hand in hand in the streets chanting Allahu Akhbar to show their resilience towards the virus. Or Christians selling their silver water online claiming that the government has approved its effectiveness towards any bacteria, virus, or cancer. Some even say it will cure homosexuality, but due to Obama, the government will not admit that part. If you touch your iPad screen and donate a few coins, the protection will be 100%.

Unfortunately, just like during the Great Plague, prayers and holy water don't seem to make a difference. A Virginian Trumpist pastor loudly and publicly put his trust in God and was later one of COVID-19th's first victims in the area. Perhaps God is sitting this one out and have passed the baton over to the Hindus? Some of them are convinced that cow urine is the remedy. Allegedly they even sent some to Trump; to keep him safe, I'm sure. Needless to say, this is the tier where I enjoy hanging out the most.

There are Nordic Shamans who have worked for the mysterious Q for years and can see through the maze created by the media. The COVID-19 is designed by the Chinese and Bill Gates. Their plan is to put an end to the REVOLUTION that was just about to bring the human race real FREEDOM. Bill Gate's Ted talk from 2015, where he warned about the world's unpreparedness to fight a pandemic was, of course, just a sophisticated scheme to fool the ignorant. Somehow the telecommunication company Ericsson is also involved, but I'm not exactly sure how.

One of my favorite experts is an Egyptian extreme athlete who asked his flock just to continue their personal path of enlightenment and not mind the hysteria propagated by the medical professionals. All that is needed is to eat some eggs, meat, and olives, then roll around in the dirt to boost your immune system, and you will be just fine. Like that college student in Florida said:

- I eat supplements, and nothing is going to stop me from partying!

After listening to the healthcare workers who fight in the trenches to save lives while the military transports the dead, some of the advice might be more difficult to accept. Nurses and doctors keep posting videos pleading people to take it seriously, explaining how they have never seen anything like it. They might, of course, be blinded by being too close to the action. Just because you experience specific details of a battle doesn't automatically make you understand the war. Maybe a random Egyptian shaman who is into banking and has a hot wife can see things more clearly from a bird's perspective.

What makes all this so complicated is that all these people, at least partly, have a point. Even the hippie whos epiphany is based on his totem animal's sermon during his latest ayahuasca trip. The difference between the "Facebook-experts" and the experts advising the decision-makers is that the latter bears the burden of liability. For some strange reason, that makes it a whole other ball game.

Politicians need to be tough and take responsibility. The lions should not concern themselves with the opinions of the sheep. They need to put politics aside and gather the most knowledgeable and distinguished experts to help them analyze the data and make decisions accordingly. I pray to the Great Spaghetti Monster to give all politicians the wisdom to choose the appropriate whisperers. Good Luck!

The only thing which is certain is that decades from now some historian will lay it all out and make it look obvious. Let's hope he will be presenting humanity's finest hour and not the beginning of a disaster that killed millions.