I think this based on the assumption that R0 is about 2.3. That means that on average, one infected person infects 2.3 other persons. Then you need to have about 60 percent of population to get immunity against the virus by first being infected with it. At that point you reach the threshold for herd immunity and the disease will soon stop spreading.
However, R0 is not a constant. For example, with good hygiene, avoiding human contacts etc it is possible to lower the rate of average number of persons each sick person infects. If we manage to do that, the threshold for herd immunity will be lower than 60 %.
Finnish person here. It is difficult to understand why any normal person would need sedation for colonoscopy. Perhaps there are super sensitive persons, but for most it should not be much more painful than getting vaccination, at least if the doctor is skilled and doesn't just force the colonoscope in. However, drinking large amounts of liquid that does not taste that great, in order to empty the colon, was the hard part. Colonoscopy was nothing compared to drinking that liquid.
As a Finn, I would say that people at least in Finland tend to be more closed during winter than during summer. I think I saw some study where they seemed to notice this kind of pattern as well, but I think the study was done outside Finland.
In Finland we sometimes ask how are you, especially if we know the person. However, it is usually meant to be a real question and not just empty phrase where "fine" is regarded as the only correct answer.
I'm so glad that recently on an interview with a foreign company, when I got asked "how are you?" at the beginning, it felt strange enough to remind me "just say 'fine' and be done with it" :D
Sometimes in Finland you see people from countries like USA talking with each other endlessly and often quite loudly. Many of us Finns find it annoying as it is against local customs (it resembles situation where somebody comes too close to my personal space). This constant chit-chat prevents me concentrating on my own thoughts. I wouldn't mind if they would talk about some important things or keep their chit-chat short, but I don't want to be exposed to this kind of noise about trivial things for hours.
The constant chit-chat is at the surface of this phenomenon, it's the general hyperactivity of Americans that strikes me as an eastern European. Always moving around restlessly while holding a drink, overacting and commenting after any kind of trivial situation around them, something that most people would not care about at all.
I call those people annoying. I was born and raised and have lived my entire life in the US. I'm quiet, still, and prefer the same in the people around me. You can't assess over 300 million people by the few who can afford to travel.
One issue is that we generally notice the loud obnoxious stereotype, and there are enough Americans that fit that mould.
And perhaps you are discounting that many people make their own judgement call based on the interactions they have had with Americans.
I am not sure it has much to do with tourists per se. On the gripping hand, I am in Palma de Mallorca at the moment, which many Europeans travel to for the beach and party life: there are some definite stereotypes for the Poms and the Germans!
Every visitor faces bigotry, some fair, some unfair.
American's can get plenty of positive reaction too. At least most people have some idea about your country and customs from watching movies: try coming from a third world nation...
But also there are a lot of Finns who seem to enjoy having loud phone-calls of their own, whilst sat next to you on the tram/bus. I find that more annoying to be honest.
It looks like I would love to live in Finland! I'm always annoyed by passengers in the bus talking loudly while I try to read my book. This is very common. Commuters are very noisy in Turkey. Also I wonder if in Finland they announce stations in public transportation. Like "next station is blah blah..." Here in Turkey in big cities they even announce stations in Turkish and in English! So annoying.
This may be true. But it does not make sense to violate personal spaces of millions of people for the possibility that one blind person will be in the train. I never encountered a blind commuter but I'm sure they exist. In my country people would be extremely helpful and would tell them their stop and help them get out. To me clean and quiet public transportation is a sign of civilization.
People with disabilities prefer not to rely on other people if they can avoid it. Just like everybody else.
It's possible to train your consciousness to some degree and ignore noise. I find the times when I'm bothered by announcements to be the times I'm fuzzy anyway. I carry big headphones for such occasions :-)
> Many of us Finns find it annoying as it is against
> local customs (it resembles situation where somebody
> comes too close to my personal space). This constant
> chit-chat prevents me concentrating on my own thoughts.
> I wouldn't mind if they would talk about some important
> things or keep their chit-chat short, but I don't want
> to be exposed to this kind of noise about trivial
> things for hours.
Like fi358, I consider subjecting someone to unwanted noise to be same as violating their personal space by coming too close to them. To me recorded announcements that repeat and repeat mindlessly the same thing over and over again and serve no purpose is a violation of personal space.
> to make public transport easy to use for people with disabilities...
You are right of course. But someone in wheelchair and a blind person have different requirements. Where I live most busses can accommodate people with wheelchair. People also are extremely helpful to blind people. I see ordinary people helping blinds cross the street. So if a blind person boards a bus all he has to do is to tell his stop to the driver or to a passenger near him.
> When traveling in the public we have to live with other people.
I agree. But in the case of the announcements, it's not the other passengers who are making the noise but a huge and mindless bureaucracy who makes the announcements only because it can. The bureaucrats or decision makers do not use public transportation and they don’t have to listen to it everyday. The trains or buses come with the technology to make announcements and managers activate it. Passengers are not asked if they want or need such announcements.
I remember subway in New York in the 80's. They were filthy, covered with graffiti, no air conditioning... but there were no recorded announcements. The conductor would make announcements if he felt like it. There is a huge difference between a live human being making the announcement and a robotic voice repeating the same thing over and over again. I remember getting in those hot and dirty trains and reading my book even if I had to stand up. You can block out human voice easily but not a recorded synthetic announcement.
Also these announcements are useless. They serve no purpose. It's not the train's duty to tell passengers the stop they need to get off. It's the duty of the passenger to know where to get out. It's no big deal if a passenger misses his stop.
But it is a huge deal to me if I cannot read my book during my commute. If I'm in the train 2 hours every day, the bureaucrats are stealing 2 hours of good reading time from me. Why? There is no reason.
Imagine traveling in a quiet train everyday! What a great feeling. I would look forward to such a commute because I can work best in busses and trains.
Sorry for the rant. But to me, these recorded announcements are one of the absurdest things in city living.
By the way, I see this topic as part of the fundamental human condition, that is, the neverending strife between the individual and his master, the legal organism.
Governments and their branches are legal organisms. These organisms exploit the individual. The individual has no power against his master.
In this case, the individual is the customer but he has no say about the quality of his commute. The legal organism in charge of transportation does not bother to ask its customers if they want recorded announcements of stations. The majority of the customers, probably over %90, take the same train everyday and know their stop by heart. They would get off in the right station in their sleep. They don’t need to be told where to get off. If the legal organism asked its customers if they want announcements, the majority would say "don't talk to us. Leave us alone. Let us read a book, sleep or daydream. Just don't bother us and don't try to be nice to us. Don’t make condescending announcements. Just shut up. Give us a clean, safe and fast ride and get out of the way.” But the master never asks its subjects and never listens. The individual accepts whatever the legal organism gives to him.
You may think that accepting the violation of your personal space by recorded announcements without protest is a trivial issue. But people who accept voluntarily trivial harrassments by their master will voluntarily accept big harassments. Like when the same organism will want to take his naked pictures while crossing its borders.
However, R0 is not a constant. For example, with good hygiene, avoiding human contacts etc it is possible to lower the rate of average number of persons each sick person infects. If we manage to do that, the threshold for herd immunity will be lower than 60 %.