# Sir Jeremy the Reckless

[![image-1640739139782.png](https://dulandrift.formosahut.com/uploads/images/gallery/2021-12/scaled-1680-/image-1640739139782.png)](https://dulandrift.formosahut.com/uploads/images/gallery/2021-12/image-1640739139782.png)<span style="font-weight: 400;">The same way you don’t want your accountant to be a reckless risk-taker with your money - you don’t want your genomic futurists being reckless with your ethics regulations. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">But that’s what we got. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Below are quotes from Sir Jeremy’s speeches. Interestingly, or not, if you’ve heard one, you’ve heard them all. Exactly the same themes, often the same anecdotes. </span>

[<span style="font-weight: 400;">Farrar, TED Talk 2016:</span>](https://tedmed.com/talks/show?id=627340)<span style="font-weight: 400;"> 0:25 </span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;">I think all of us - at some point in our lives - are faced with some decisions - </span>****we don’t really ever quite understand the implications*** *<span style="font-weight: 400;">of the decisions we reach.</span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">So prescient! Like the decisions made in the </span>[<span style="font-weight: 400;">Feb 1 Teleconference</span>](http://formosahut.com/forum/index.php?id=3051)<span style="font-weight: 400;">? Your point though is - </span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;">never let that stop you.</span>*

[<span style="font-weight: 400;">Farrar 13:40:</span>](https://tedmed.com/talks/show?id=627340) *<span style="font-weight: 400;">At a time when societies and politics may be taking us in a direction of narrow nationalism and isolationism, where we look inward and not outward, i think it’s ever </span>****ever more critical****<span style="font-weight: 400;"> for .. those of us who </span>****truly truly believe****<span style="font-weight: 400;"> the world is now a </span>****very very small****<span style="font-weight: 400;"> place ..</span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;"> (we know that coz we’ve collected its data)</span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;"> (to) have the </span>****courage*** *<span style="font-weight: 400;">to </span>****grasp the moment****<span style="font-weight: 400;"> - to realize if we bring the </span>****full force****<span style="font-weight: 400;"> of all .. our expertise to bear, we can truly </span>****change the world****<span style="font-weight: 400;">. </span>*

<span style="font-weight: 400;">You changed the world alright Champ - no argument there. You also restate your sworn enemy - anti-globalist sentiment - rally your troops to crush it with the </span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;">full force</span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;"> of your immensely powerful </span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;">One-Everything</span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;"> machine.</span>

[<span style="font-weight: 400;">Farrar:</span>](https://tedmed.com/talks/show?id=627340) *<span style="font-weight: 400;">And I </span>****believe*** *<span style="font-weight: 400;">if we have the </span>****courage*** *<span style="font-weight: 400;">to </span>****dream*** *<span style="font-weight: 400;">and if we have the </span>****courage*** *<span style="font-weight: 400;">to </span>****commit*** *<span style="font-weight: 400;">ourselves to investing .. in science .. I </span>****believe*** *<span style="font-weight: 400;">that we can make the world a </span>****safer place.*** *<span style="font-weight: 400;">That’s the opportunity that we</span>* ***must grasp****<span style="font-weight: 400;"> - it’s there.</span>*

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Lot of </span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;">believing </span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;">in Jeremy’s speeches - for a scientist. Sounds more like a religious gathering. The </span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;">Belief </span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;">to </span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;">carpe diem. </span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span>

*<span style="font-weight: 400;">Making us safer. </span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;">B</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">y </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">being risky. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">In science, i've come to learn, *making us safe* is code for *increased surveillance/reduced freedoms*. To a scio-surveillant's way of thinking: the price of Freedom - *is* Freedom. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">  
</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Not sure about the </span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;">courage </span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;">though. You </span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;">are </span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;">the goliath, Jeremy. How much courage do you need to step on ants protesting your disruption? You were </span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;">at the height </span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;">already. You’ve got </span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;">Big-Everything</span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;"> on your side. Or do you mean</span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;"> the courage to morally unmoor</span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;">? Like Hitler did. To set sail in a sea where you can kill 5 mil counting without thinking. [*Not fearing the edge*](https://www.happyscribe.com/public/desert-island-discs/professor-sir-jeremy-farrar#paragraph_1029?utm_source=public_transcript&utm_medium=highlight_copy&utm_campaign=public_promo). Sleeping well at night knowing you're doing it  
</span>

*<span style="font-weight: 400;"> - for the common good -  
</span>*

[<span style="font-weight: 400;">NIH Report:</span>](https://nihrecord.nih.gov/2019/08/23/farrar-offers-3-part-prescription-global-health) *<span style="font-weight: 400;">Wellcome is </span>****uniquely untethered****<span style="font-weight: 400;">, Farrar admitted, describing the organization’s “incredibly privileged” position of having its own endowment, an independent governing board and no shareholders to keep happy.</span>*

[<span style="font-weight: 400;">Farrar:</span>](https://nihrecord.nih.gov/2019/08/23/farrar-offers-3-part-prescription-global-health) *<span style="font-weight: 400;">It comes with a tremendous responsibility to be accountable for what we do and to be</span>* ***as transparent as we can be****<span style="font-weight: 400;"> ...</span>*

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Sure does. So how about handing over/redacting the Feb 1 Teleconference emails for a start? Not that transparent, right? </span>

*<span style="font-weight: 400;">...in order to achieve the real change we seek.</span>*

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Hmm, what are you up to, Jeremy, with your </span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;">disruptive real changes</span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;">?</span>

[<span style="font-weight: 400;">Farrar, Nature, 2007:</span>](https://www.nature.com/articles/ni1532) *<span style="font-weight: 400;">The question, as in the words of Brutus to Cassius in </span>****Shakespeare's*** *<span style="font-weight: 400;">tragedy of almost 500 years ago, is whether we are </span>****shrewd*** *<span style="font-weight: 400;">enough,</span>* ***bold*** *<span style="font-weight: 400;">enough </span>****and committed*** *<span style="font-weight: 400;">enough to </span>****take advantage****<span style="font-weight: 400;"> of the tide?</span>*

<span style="font-weight: 400;">We can safely say you were/are - </span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;">shrewd, bold, committed.</span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;"> (We’ll get back to Brutus later)</span>

[<span style="font-weight: 400;">Farrar, Nature, 2007:</span>](https://www.nature.com/articles/ni1532)<span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;">We must address the issue of bureaucracy and over-regulation .. before it stops all clinical research</span>*[*<span style="font-weight: 400;">8</span>*](https://www.nature.com/articles/ni1532#ref-CR8)<span style="font-weight: 400;">. </span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;">A </span>****new global agreement****<span style="font-weight: 400;"> is needed on clinical research guidelines based on evidence and an appreciation of just</span>* ***how dangerous over-regulation****<span style="font-weight: 400;"> can be to human health.</span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;"> .. </span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;">This will come back to haunt us in the future</span>*

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Yeah - under-regulation of GoF-experimentation-gone-mad </span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;">likely caused Covid .. </span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;">that</span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;"> can be harmful to human health </span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;">as well. Even </span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;">more hauntingly so </span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;">than </span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;">over-regulation</span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;">, right? </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Either way, this anti-regulation crusade to enable your risk-taking approach to medicine is a key part of your manifesto. </span>[<span style="font-weight: 400;">Criticized </span>](https://www.statnews.com/2016/05/06/jeremy-farrar-wellcome-trust/)<span style="font-weight: 400;">by fellow-scientists for conducting hasty experimental drug trials in Africa - </span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;">trading expediency for data that wouldn’t be reliable</span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;"> - you shrug that off</span>[<span style="font-weight: 400;"> saying:</span>](https://www.happyscribe.com/public/desert-island-discs/professor-sir-jeremy-farrar#paragraph_482?utm_source=public_transcript&utm_medium=highlight_copy&utm_campaign=public_promo) *<span style="font-weight: 400;">if we wait for the data, it will be too late. </span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;">(slightly paraphrased)</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">That’s radical. Very bold - very risky.</span>

[<span style="font-weight: 400;">Farrar, Nature, 2007:</span>](https://www.nature.com/articles/ni1532) *<span style="font-weight: 400;">If we are to </span>****fully realize the opportunities****<span style="font-weight: 400;"> of the present </span>****scientific revolution****<span style="font-weight: 400;">, we must .. not make patient-orientated research so difficult that we prevent critical research from being conducted. </span>*

<span style="font-weight: 400;">In fact, you’re quite the *activist*, when it comes to </span>[<span style="font-weight: 400;">diluting ethics guidelines</span>](https://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0000619)<span style="font-weight: 400;"> - </span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;">to make clinical trials less daunting and cumbersome</span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;">. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">At least that explains why so much of your Wellcome </span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;">patient-orientated researc</span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;">h </span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;">revolution </span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;">is conducted in the </span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;">ethics free-zones</span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;"> of certain African dictatorships - and Xinjiang. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">As for your revolution? Aren’t revolutions supposed to be the oppressed rising up? Not </span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;">we at the height</span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;"> becoming </span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;">more at the height?</span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">The Beatles had the </span>[<span style="font-weight: 400;">right sentiment:</span>](https://youtu.be/BGLGzRXY5Bw?t=156)

*<span style="font-weight: 400;">If you go carrying pictures of Chairman Mao - you ain’t gonna make it with anyone anyhow</span>*

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Except you did make it: </span>

*<span style="font-weight: 400;">Carrying pictures of Chairman Xi - so we can organ harvest ethics-freeeee! Don’t you know it’s gonna beeeee - Allriiight</span>*