The Ebola Thread (US Domestic)

[traininthedistance]

Of course we should institute a travel ban on majorly affected nations. Anybody who's even so much as played Pandemic knows this is the first step. I have yet to hear a serious argument as to why we shouldn't. We now have multiple Ebola cases in America explicitly because of our refusal to take this necessary step.

Containment is the first step to resolving this.

Of course.  Design decisions made in the service of having a playable board game with simple and engaging mechanics should totally be taken as expert advice from actual epidemiologists.  Makes perfect sense. 

This is the same principle by which Risk proved that control of Australia is the most important step towards control of the world; or, to get even nerdier, how Twilight Struggle proved that domino theory was correct*.

*never mind that the designer of Twilight Struggle was forthright about how it was adopted for the purpose of gameplay (or at best a window into the minds of people who actually believed it) rather than perfect historical verisimilitude...

[traininthedistance]

Of course.  Design decisions made in the service of having a playable board game with simple and engaging mechanics should totally be taken as expert advice from actual epidemiologists.  Makes perfect sense. 

This is the same principle by which Risk proved that control of Australia is the most important step towards control of the world; or, to get even nerdier, how Twilight Struggle proved that domino theory was correct.

A.) That's not my point and you know it. I also noticed you still haven't actually pointed out why such a ban is a bad idea.

B.) I wasn't talking about the board game. I was talking about the computer version, it's similar but you play as the virus and try to kill as many as possible.

A: I actually have, just in a different thread.

B: Oh!  That makes so much difference!  My point is demolished!

Good gravy. 

[traininthedistance]

Here's a good exploration of how our lizard brains are responding to Ebola: with the sort of increased xenophobia and disgust that perhaps once made good evolutionary sense, but has become maladaptive (to say the least) in today's society.

And of course it includes the study about how Purell makes you conservative.

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