Do you believe in creationism? In other words, do you believe, as it says in the Bible, that God created the world approximately six thousand years ago, with all living things as they are today? Before you answer that, let me ask you another question. Do you believe in Australia? Yes, I’m asking if you think Australia is a real place.
Both questions may appear to be similar because both have been framed in the same way: Do you believe in …. ? But the proponents of Australia and the proponents of creationism differ in the way they handle the question.
The proponents of Australia will give you the coordinates for where it is. If you sail there, and you don’t find the continent, well then there is no Australia.
What about the proponents of creationism? You show them fossil remains. They say these are remains of the monsters mentioned in the Bible. But you tell them that you can date the fossils and prove that these are millions of years old. So that disproves creationism, right?
No, the proponents of creationism say. What if God made the world six thousand years ago and then made everything look like it is millions of years old?
Stumped?
The purpose of this long-winded introduction is this. Anyone can claim anything. How do we know which claims are scientific? Because claims that are scientific are always falsifiable. In other words, there has to be a way to disprove them using observations. If you don’t find Australia where they say it is, then there is no such thing as Australia. Superstition, on the other hand, argues that observations don’t matter. The conclusion is always the same.
Now think about the so-called ‘Kerala model’. How do the proponents of the Kerala model know that it is the best in the world? They say it is based on observation. But remarkably enough, the conclusions don’t change with observations.
What does it mean when the test positive rate for Covid in Kerala is low? It means that Kerala has successfully contained the spread of the disease. Ok, but guess what it means when the test positive rate in Kerala is high? It means that the state govt strategy of “targeted testing” is working.
No matter what the observations are, the conclusion is always the same. Kerala model is a success!
Death rates in Kerala are high? It is because it is the most aggressive and honest in updating data.
What does it mean when there are few Covid deaths in Kerala? It is a win for Kerala’s amazing healthcare system. So what does it mean when there are lots of Covid deaths in Kerala? It means that the state is doing a stellar job of recording deaths. As with creationism, you can’t disprove the Kerala model. Every observation, as well as its exact opposite, is explained by the Kerala model.
That’s how you can tell that the Kerala model is not science. It is superstition.
There is another way. Scientific results are reproducible. The effects of an antibiotic such as penicillin can be reproduced over and over again, with millions of human subjects. A magic potion or powder given by a fakeer baba is different. There is always someone willing to testify to its effectiveness, but the results can never be reproduced independently.
Nobody knows what is “targeted testing”
Just like “targeted testing.” No government, whether inside or outside India, has been able to reproduce the Kerala government’s technique of targeted testing. The World Health Organization has no clue what it is. The WHO still says that a test positive rate above 5% means that the pandemic is going out of control. However, in “targeted testing,” a higher positive rate indicates things are going very well, only in Kerala.
Right now, there is a huge shortage of testing kits in the US, for instance. Think about how much waste could have been avoided if we didn’t have to go through say 100 tests to find 5-6 cases. We could have used “targeted testing” and cut down the number of test kits needed by a factor of 4 or 5! But no government has tried to acquire Kerala’s unique technology. Neither has the Kerala government tried to export it.
The Kerala model cannot be falsified by observation. Its results cannot be reproduced anywhere else. Because the Kerala model is faith-based.
What? Communists and faith? Heresy!
But here is what settles the matter. The people running the scam know exactly what they are doing. We know the Kerala model is superstitious because those running it don’t believe in it themselves. And that is why Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan is off to the US for just a “medical check-up.”
Apparently, Kerala’s much-acclaimed healthcare system cannot do so much as a medical check-up. Also observe that the Communist CM is not going to Cuba, or China, or any other place that inspires his politics. He is going to America!
Incidentally, he isn’t even the only minister in his government right now who is going to America for medical reasons. His sports minister is doing the same.
Where does that leave you, the common citizen? Well, if you are a resident of Kerala, congratulations! You will be picking up the bill, because all expenses will be borne by the taxpayer. So, if you have relatives in the Gulf who are sending money home, better call them and tell them to work just a bit harder. Don’t worry, because it is all going towards a good cause, which is fighting fascism. You don’t want Modi taking over Kerala, do you? So work a little harder, comrades! Thanks to Comrade Pinarayi, the harvest shall be plentiful this year.
Oh, and Comrade Pinarayi also changed the commissar who supposedly led Kerala so successfully through Covid. Remember Comrade Shailaja? I haven’t heard her mentioned once in the media since mid-May. Remember the revolution isn’t about individuals, it is about the collective.
Have you ever seen a faith healer take their own “medicine”? And so does Comrade Pinarayi head to the US, leaving behind his famed Kerala model. The real Kerala model isn’t healthcare or education. It is about making sure nobody in the media dares to say a word against it.
