this post was submitted on 15 Jan 2025
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We Just Got More Evidence That Long COVID Is a Brain Injury

The exact nature of long COVID is still coming to light, but we just got some of the best evidence yet that this debilitating condition stems from a brain injury.

Using high-resolution scanners, researchers at the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford have shown microscopic, structural abnormalities in the brainstems of those recovering from COVID-19.

Signs of brain inflammation were present up to 18 months after first contracting the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

"We show that the brainstem is a site of vulnerability to long-term effects of COVID-19, with persistent changes evident in the months after hospitalization," the authors of the study conclude.

https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awae215

#health #science #biology #news @science@lemmy.world @science@beehaw.org @news@lemmy.world @health@lemmy.world @usnews@beehaw.org

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[–] MothmanDelorian@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Is there? I don’t know of anyone who gathers together to bad mouth conspiracy theorists

[–] Knock_Knock_Lemmy_In@lemmy.world -1 points 1 day ago (2 children)

There are many in this thread. I replied to one.

People who casually dismiss conspiracy theories are exactly as bad as those who unquestioningly believe them.

[–] grepe@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

People who casually dismiss conspiracy theories are exactly as bad as those who unquestioningly believe them.

the occams razor is a crucial part of scientific thinking for a reason.

the space of all possibilities is infinite. the space of what people believe and say is enormous. the space of what is actually truth is comparatively smaller, unrelated and uncaring about either of those.

you can't possibly consider everything everyone says - especially if what they are saying keeps changing as they see fit. you'll just burn out if you try and end up in endless "discussions" with the people who are "just asking questions"...

that doesn't mean i should dismiss or ridicule people, but it does mean i will not spend a single heartbeat thinking about another "proof" that the earth is flat or controlled by lizard prople or something.

[–] Knock_Knock_Lemmy_In@lemmy.world 1 points 22 hours ago

occams razor is a crucial part of scientific thinking for a reason

Holy shitballs. NO. Occam's razor may lead you to a solution faster, but the scientific approach is to exhaust all possibilities. Occam's razor implies the sun goes round the earth. It is not scientific.

you can't possibly consider everything everyone says

Of course you can. You may assign it a credibility of almost 0, but you can still consider a theory. In science this process is decentralized and heavily delegated.

if what they are saying keeps changing as they see fit.

Then they become even less credible.

i will not spend a single heartbeat thinking about another "proof" that the earth is flat.

Well, at least you were open enough to consider one argument.

Honestly, I was on board with the lizard people right up to the point David Ike insisted that it wasn't a metaphor.

[–] MothmanDelorian@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Did you see someone whose social life is built around dismissing conspiracy believers or did you just reply to someone who rejects conspiracy thinking? I suspect it’s the latter.

[–] Knock_Knock_Lemmy_In@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Did you see someone whose social life is built around dismissing conspiracy believers

Did I say there was someone whose social life is built around dismissing conspiracy believers? No.

I'm point out that people who automatically reject conspiracy thinking have exactly the same mentality and online support groups as those who blindly believe them. I illustrated this by mirroring their exact words.

[–] MothmanDelorian@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Go back to the furst comment of yours that I replied to. You claim there’s a community of anti-conspiracy people and what Im suggesting is that the conspiracy thinkers are a ral community. If you buy into flat earth there are conventions to go to, merch to buy and shows to listen/watch that are all part of the flat earth community.

Skeptics don’t have that in the same way. My unwillingness to accept Bigfoot isn’t because im searching to belong but the Bigfoot hunter might be.

[–] Knock_Knock_Lemmy_In@lemmy.world 1 points 22 hours ago* (last edited 22 hours ago) (1 children)

You claim there’s a community of anti-conspiracy people

Yep. On reddit there was a organized group called themselves top minds of reddit r/tmor

conspiracy thinkers are a real community.

Only in that people post in the same subreddit.

If you buy into flat earth there are conventions to go to, merch to buy and shows to listen/watch that are all part of the flat earth community.

Agreed. But doing that you aren't automatically a member of the sasquatch search community nor do you automatically believe that Hitler survived and moved to South America.

Conspiracies are separate (generally).

Skeptics don’t have that in the same way.

The people who don't take official explanations as gospel are the Skeptics. One should not dismiss flat earthers until a ship has been observed disappearing over the horizon.

If you automatically dismiss something because someone calls it a debunked conspiracy then you are not a skeptic.

My unwillingness to accept Bigfoot isn’t because im searching to belong but the Bigfoot hunter might be.

My unwillingness to believe the tech companies privacy statement doesn't push me to join a community

[–] MothmanDelorian@lemmy.world 1 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

Again conspiracy theorists have IRL events and a culture whereas “Best Minds of Reddit” is a subreddit and not a community. They aren’t the same thing. People identify as flat earthers, JFK conspiracists et al whereas no one identifies as an anti-conspiracy theorist

[–] Knock_Knock_Lemmy_In@lemmy.world 1 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

People interested in a common topic may meet IRL, but that's a specific community. Topics don't overlap. There is no all encompassing conspiracy theorist community. The closest example I can find is Conspiracy Con which has not run for more than a decade.

Anyone who automatically dismisses a topic because some calls it a conspiracy theory is anti-conspiracy theorist.

is a subreddit and not a community

My point is that r/tmor is just as equal a community as r/conspiracy

[–] MothmanDelorian@lemmy.world 1 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

And Im not claiming parts of reddits are communities but ratger IRL comspiracy groups come with a community like any group that organizes around beliefs do. Your claim is that anti-conspiracy people are a community and they aren't

[–] Knock_Knock_Lemmy_In@lemmy.world 1 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

My claim is that the anti-conspiracy people are very similar to the conspiracy theory people. The amount of community spirit, in real life meetings, self congratulation and dogmatic beliefs are broadly the same.

[–] MothmanDelorian@lemmy.world 1 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

And Im saying that's wrong because I can find IRL meet ups all over the world for people in a conspiratorial subset. Becoming a flatearther or antivaxxer is like becoming a Roman Catholic in the sense that there is a real world community of people who gather together to celebrate and share these ideas. The anti-conspiracy people do not have this. If you don't buy into conspiracy theories there isn't a convention for you, there aren't gatherings of people to debunk the conspiracies that no one attending believes in.

When I say there's a community of conspiracy theorists Im talking about an actual community not a fucking subreddit as subreddit are not real communities.

[–] Knock_Knock_Lemmy_In@lemmy.world 1 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago) (1 children)

You are conflating the subset of people who believe a particular conspiracy theory with a largely imaginary group of people who believe any conspiracy theory.

there aren't gatherings of people to debunk the conspiracies

Yes there are

When I say there's a community of conspiracy theorists Im talking about an actual community.

You are constantly referring to specific communities (e.g. anti-vaxxers). There is no generic conspiracy theory community. Anti vaxxers don't necessarily believe 9/11 was an inside job.

[–] MothmanDelorian@lemmy.world 1 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

Ok? You're still demonstrating conspiracy theorists have a community while those who oppose them aren't members of a specific community.

Again websites, internet forums, and subreddits are not real communities. No one is self identifying as a person that opposes conspiracy theories whereas flat earthers are prominent enough that I don't have to explain what the flat earther community is.

Conspiracy theorist communities offer a sense of larger belonging that opposition to conspiracy theories does not provide. They are incredibly different in that regard

[–] Knock_Knock_Lemmy_In@lemmy.world 1 points 31 minutes ago

No. A particular conspiracy may have a group of people that form a community. E.g. Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth but these people don't believe in flat earth.

If websites, internet forums, and subreddits are not real communities then there is no conspiracy theorist community.

If you allow websites, internet forums, and subreddits then the anti-conspiracy theorist community is just as valid as the conspiracy theorist community and they display many of the same dogmatic traits. Hence my mirroring of their words.