DR ST CLAIR KING

SOME OF us are going on trust of the acknowledged experts that there is a covid19 virus ravaging the world population and that there are vaccines which, though they will not prevent one getting the virus, boost the immune system such that the impact of the disease will be mild and prevent the death of the patient. Further, that to prevent infection one should wear a mask, wash hands often - sanitise - and keep one's distance from others.

The important point being made here is that in general we ourselves do not have the knowledge/evidence personally that any of the above is true. Hence, for our beliefs and decision-making we depend on the knowledge of many others.

Still, there are others who in the extreme do not believe there is a covid19 virus and that they should be vaccinated or even wear masks. Evidence of this is the world over with massive demonstrations in cities against actions that the various governments have imposed, since they say the pandemic is imagined, and these government mandates violate their constitution rights to, say, congregate, to go to the beach, etc.

Indeed, the Ministry of Health, the Government, is using the recommendations of the WHO in trying to combat this virus as though they are gospel; the trust is placed in this organisation since in no way does the ministry experts have the personal knowledge nor the facilities to replace the recommendations of the WHO with their own evidence.

For example, there was talk without any proper demonstration of evidence that certain drugs were available to combat the disease. However, these drugs were not approved for use in TT until and if they were WHO-approved. Hence, any knowledge that these local ministry experts appeared to have is just shared knowledge, a shared understanding of information from those they trust. Indeed, the claim was that they are going with the science.

All that science does is maintain a protocol among its many researchers and practitioners worldwide via publications, conferences, cross-checking of postulated, a peer review process, so that whatever we think we know is really shared knowledge among the many and created by many.

As an individual much of what we believe that we know we cannot (or do not attempt to) prove from our own experiences or from evidence we have produced ourselves. Much of our 'knowledge' depends on what others have done and we trust that what they tell us is correct.

For example, much of what I know I have been taught in my degree programmes. Building on this which I believed to be true (I did not try to prove that what I was taught was correct or otherwise) I did my own research and contributed to knowledge by my own original work, which I published and that became part of universal knowledge via the protocols of science. We stand on the shoulders of acclaimed giants to add to the knowledge of the world.

Hence the concept of science is the collaboration of many who share their knowledge and in cross-checking, testing and researching come up with postulat