It isn’t so much that [the experts] are ignorant. It’s just that they know so many things that aren’t so.
- Ronald Reagan, edited slightly
part one . . . part two . . . part two-b
first, a quick recap.
so far we’ve introduced the players:
team virus - who believe viruses exist, cause disease, and spread, and
the bobs - who are questioning the methodology of virology, which they claim does not prove any of the beliefs of team virus.
and we’ve settled on a definition of a virus, to make sure the players are arguing about the same thing:
a virus is a really tiny particle containing some genetic code (RNA or DNA) wrapped in a protein coating that attaches to a healthy cell, injects its genetic material, which hijacks the machinery inside the cell in order to make a bunch of copies of itself, which then explode out of and kill the cell, thereby releasing that bunch of copies to go on and repeat the process with other healthy cells. in some sources they are referred to as parasites. the killing of cells by the virus sometimes results in illness in, and/or death of, the host. the tiny particles are able to transmit from one host to another, but cannot reproduce without using a host’s cells. outside of a cell, it’s called a virion.
now let’s take a closer look at the bobs’ critique of how the virology sausage gets made.
the bobs argue the '“viruses exist” claim rests on three pillars:
cytopathic effects - a fancy name for the death of cells in a culture,
microscopy - the source of those pictures we see everywhere, and
sequencing - that long string of letters that is the unique genetic “fingerprint” of the virus
the bobs also argue those three pillars should rest on a solid foundation of isolation and purification. they pose this as a not-so-simple question:
if you do not separate those specific really tiny particles from all other tiny particles, how can you be absolutely sure that what is causing the death of the cells in the culture is the exact same tiny thing that is posing for photos and also has that exact genetic fingerprint?
and finally, the bobs claim no virus (per our specific definition) has ever been separated from all other tiny particles before killing cells in a culture, being photographed, or sequenced, and therefore there is no solid foundation to the belief in the existence of viruses.
and what is team virus’ response to the bobs’ claims?
are the bobs on to something or are they controlled opposition? are they just wasting everyone’s time and causing dissension in the ranks? are they arguing “in bad faith?” are they charlatans and grifters with conflicts of interest who are confused, unscientific, delusional, paranoid, radical, extremist, and insane? let me know what you think.
in the next post we’ll take a closer look at the bobs’ claim that no virus has ever been isolated.