[nine_k]

It may also be painful to watch and experience if this paradigm shift has real-world implications aka if it matters at all.

It took a long time before the community of doctors accepted the experimentally proven concept of washing hands and instruments before doing something to a patient, e.g. a surgery. While it may have provided some nice stability, it also prolonged and produced quite some suffering.

[PaulKeeble]

Even now its a problem getting healthcare workers to wash their hands, its a constant task of enforcement.

We have had good and increasing evidence for the air borne spread of diseases since the early 20th century and yet even now airborne spread of viruses via aerosol is rejected by most. We have experiments showing that Covid and other viruses spread airborne in small 1-3 micrometre aerosoles and confirmed transit over quite large distances on the wind. We also have experimental evidence that it can survive in the air for many hours.

Yet the WHO still has not accepted that viruses spread this way and indeed many governments are rejecting it as well. This is a Semmelweis moment happening currently and its not just one scientist being rejected its hundreds all coming at the problem from different directions finding the same thing.

[sokoloff]

Are health officials rejecting the idea that viruses can spread airborne? Or merely rejecting the idea that we should have some common, widespread intervention to prevent it?

It seems like there’s not much room to disbelieve the former, but plenty of sensible people could have different opinions on the latter.

[potato3732842]

You don't see this sort of "holding onto bad ideas" in low margin industries. The margins literally can't support it.

There's probably some older small retail businesses out there who are still using almost wholly paper records but they're a rounding error.