servodude wrote:GrahamPlatt wrote:Lanark wrote:The point I think a lot of people are missing is that the virus doesnt have a brain, it is not able to start mutating due to the presence or absence of a vaccine.
Whilst I sort of agree with you, (other than that I’d add the caveat that the vaccine creates a selection pressure) you might be interested in this https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m ... ut-a-brain which suggests that some scientists are re-evaluating the meaning of intelligence.
yes but only in the sense of a filter
the evolution/mutation of the virus is arbitrary
- changes in circumstances will render some variants unviable; those changes will not cause viable variants to arise (if they do arise they just won't be selected against)
- sd
Agreed, but I mean in the sense that (inappropriate or not) antibiotic usage “selects” for resistant strains. It’s just semantics - filters out the susceptible would also do, but in doing so, it creates space for the non-susceptible to flourish. As “good” bacteria colonising a surface reduce the available niches for their pathogenic cousins.