TY - BOOK AU - Axe,Douglas AU - Richards,Jay W. AU - Briggs,William M. TI - The price of panic: how the tyranny of experts turned a pandemic into a catastrophe SN - 9781684511419 AV - RA644 .C67 2020 KW - COVID-19 (Disease) KW - Social aspects KW - United States KW - Economic aspects KW - Political aspects KW - Government policy KW - COVID-19 KW - Aspect social KW - �Etats-Unis KW - Aspect �economique KW - Aspect politique KW - Politique gouvernementale KW - fast KW - Nonfiction N1 - Includes bibliographical references and index; Introduction --; Where did the pandemic start? --; WHO started the panic? --; How it spread --; Social manias and the cult of expertise --; Rush to lockdown --; Untangling the numbers --; Blind models --; Why did we believe lockdown would work? --; Did the lockdowns work? --; The human cost --; Life, death, and the pursuit of happiness --; Through a glass darkly: Balancing costs with benefits when we don't know the future --; Who got it right? --; Lessons learned --; Conclusion. Against the brave new normal N2 - What just happened? The human cost of the emergency response to COVID-19 has far outweighed the benefits. That's the sobering verdict of a trio of scholars - a biologist, a statistician, and a philosopher - in this comprehensive assessment of the worst panic-induced disaster in history. As the media fanned the flames of panic, government officials and a new elite of scientific experts ignored the established protocols for mitigating a dangerous disease. Instead, they shut down the world economy, closed every school, confined citizens to their homes, and threatened to enforce a regime of extreme social distancing indefinitely. And the American public - amazingly enough - complied without protest. Modestly but relentlessly focused on what we know and don't know about the coronavirus, Douglas Axe, William M. Briggs, and Jay W. Richards demonstrate in this eye-opening study what real experts can contribute when a pandemic strikes. In the early spring of 2020, the panic of government officials, the hysteria of the media, and the hubris of suddenly powerful scientists produced a worldwide calamity. The Price of Panic is the essential book for understanding what happened and how to avoid repeating our deadly mistakes. -- ER -