The brain typically prioritizes immediate rewards/risks over ones that are on the horizon.
My guess is that there’s a population of profoundly lazy and unmotivated people out there, and getting vaccinated is too much trouble, but getting $50 makes it worth it. Or maybe they’re profoundly wimpy and are actually so afraid of potential side-effects that $50 makes it worth it, while without it, they’re not willing.
Neither would really surprise me; I’ve run across MULTIPLE people who have proclaimed that they went out of their way to hunt down the J&J vaccine because it’s “one and done”. Which is kind of a head-scratcher to me; if I’m going to the trouble to get vaccinated, I’m going to make it count and get the most effective one I possibly can, not find the path of least resistance there.
But for some people, I guess the path of least resistance, effort and discomfort is important to them. And I suppose to a lot of them, an extra $50 changes their views on that path.
Got six and one-half minutes ? Feeling the sort of Pollyanna-ish that makes you think you’re just one reasonable strategy from really being able to engage with Old Uncle Joe about this ?
I found this interesting:
She’s Amanda Ripley, author and investigative journalist. Her new book is “High Conflict: Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out.”
Do I feel refreshed, recharged, reloaded, and imbued with a renewed sense of optimism about talking to my (refusing the vaccine, basically refusing to wear masks, sure the election was stolen) brother and SIL ?
No.
But if/when I find myself in a conversation with them, maybe I won’t so forcefully steer the dialogue away from these topics, and might just take Ms. Ripley’s ideas for a spin.
Maybe 
Her ideas work when there’s stability. We’re moving into a moment that will be extremely unstable. We’re entering an era in which scarcity and deprivation isn’t just imagined, but real. She probably doesn’t understand that.
The vax refusers fail the marshmallow test.
lol, niiiice!
Once again-the marshmallow test is not a pass/fail test. There is no right answer. It was designed to see what mechanisms children use to delay gratification but specifically does not assert that delaying gratification or not delaying gratification is better. While subsequent studies show a correlation between ability to delay gratification and pursuit of higher education, that does not mean this this is in any way preferable to not delaying gratification.
(As one of the original subjects-I feel that I have the authority to have the definitive answer on this. No-I have no idea how I performed on this experiment but I do blame the researchers for equating sweets with a reward and contributing to a lifetime of weight issues).
Something lighthearted on covid. This didn’t fit in any QZ catagories.
This is making me sad and I don’t know what to do.
My oldest son is bi-polar and asthmatic but has a good job, owns his own car and has his own mortgage. His younger brother (middle child) lives with him paying rent for the top half of their house.
He refuses to get the vaccine for (to me) no apparent reason. Early this year his excuse was younger people don’t get it so why bother. Once I and and his dad got vaccinated it was “Not like I can pass it to you.”
His younger brother did get vaccinated.
Now with Delta he’s all “Well, being vaxxed doesn’t seem to matter.” I tried to guilt him with me being asthmatic, type 2 diabetic and his dad with high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes. “You’re vaxxed… and even if I was vaxxed my asthma means I’ll probably die anyway or not be too sick… just like you guys won’t be too sick.”
He’s a liberal, he’s college educated, he’s always been a bit of an asshole… but this…
I guess I should be glad he is emphatic about not procreating. And thanks to C-19 he isn’t hitting the bars or anywhere else outside his house maskless (other than work where he doesn’t see anybody but his bosses: hubby and hubby’s boss who are both vaxxed) so no girlfriends who might want to have kids. Mainly because if he does catch it it his odds of spreading C19 are way lower. (Shopping, he says he wears a mask.)
I am thankful #2 and #3 (daughter) have been vaxxed.
But this sucks that he just doesn’t care (about himself or all of us).
Is it possible he is afraid of needles, and too proud to admit that? So he makes up other excuses? He does not sound like a dedicated anti vaxxer.
I’m sorry your son is being so frustrating. I noticed that all of his arguments seem to center on COVID, not the vaccine. He’s not saying the vaccine is dangerous, right? Therefore, he has no objections to getting vaccinated, merely opinions on why it’s not necessary or does no good. So even if he believes the vaccine would do him little good, what’s the harm in getting jabbed?
Have his siblings tried talking with him?
You didn’t ask about this, but it seems his life is very narrow and that he sees few people. (I’m confused about the line about “hubby and hubby’s boss.” Is your son married and working with his husband?) Does he have no friends? Does he not socialize–no barbecues, dinner parties, casual gatherings of any kind? I can’t help wondering if there’s some connection between his lack of socialization and his vaccine views.
@nelliebly : “hubby and hubby’s boss” is my husband (who is a boss) and the boss over him. He has his best friend who stops over every few weeks (he’s married with one child and one on the way so he doesn’t have much time to socialize either). His brother did ask but got the same answer. He has always been a loner.
@Euphonious_Polemic he isn’t afraid of needles.
I think it’s mostly he is getting stuck in his depressive state (he tried meds when he was first diagnosed but hated how they made him feel “Like a zombie.”)
The sad truth is that one of the great and to my mind, humorous, ironies of our current history is the people most terrified of covid and the variants are the vaxed. Anti-jabbers don’t give a shit. They have nothing to lose. If it turns out in the future the experimental shot has serious side effects and they survive covid. Well in their mind the end justifies their belief.
Well, except for that little thing we call their lives.
Seriously? In August 2021 you’re still using the term “experimental shot”? You’re not helping.
For a lot of them, that “end” is going to be final.
Quote DMC:
Seriously? In August 2021 you’re still using the term “experimental shot”? You’re not helping.
Technically according to NIAD and CDC you are a volunteer and they are in Phase 3.
How is NIAID working to ensure diversity among volunteers in the vaccine clinical trials? Why is enrolling diverse groups important?
Vaccines in Phase 3 Clinical Trials
Large-scale (Phase 3) clinical trials are in progress or being planned for COVID-19 vaccines in the United States.
https://www.niaid.nih.gov/diseases-conditions/covid-19-vaccine-faq
yeah, but with something like a billion shots administered around the world, I’m personally ready to call this experiment concluded. And the results are really good. Not quite as good against Delta as against earlier versions. But a really good safety/effectiveness profile.
Technically, the vaccines in use in the US cleared phase 3 last year. Once cleared, they continue to monitor people for years, but they were given full clearance.
Either way, practically speaking, the “experiment” is completed. Feeding the paranoia of the anti-vaxxers doesn’t help.
Feel free to share a side affect I had months after the vaccine. I got my second shot on 3/2 and on 7/1 I got a raise.
What? It makes as much sense as most things I’ve heard.
I forgot to address this one. The people most terrified of COVID and variants are the unvaccinated who are currently fighting the disease and taking up precious ICU beds, as well as their families. They’re far more scared than I’ve ever been through the entire pandemic.
(Side effect)
Well, after I had my second shot my hair turned gray!!
Of course, I had stopped coloring it a month before. Does that have any relevance? Nah, I didn’t think so.