28.7.06
O HIV e a pergunta
HIV and the question
Chamou a minha atenção a maneira de formular uma das perguntas, agora proibida pela justiça, feita aos doadores de sangue:
"Manteve relações sexuais com homens que tiveram relações sexuais com outros homens e ou as parceiras sexuais destes?"
O que me parece estranho é que é uma pergunta praticamente impossível de ser respondida, especialmente a segunda parte. Como uma pessoa vai saber com quem sua parceira teve relações no passado? E esta parceira por acaso saberá com quem seus últimos parceiros tiveram relações, e assim por diante? Para não mencionar que é o tipo de pergunta que, além de provavelmente não ter resposta, é capaz de arruinar completamente um encontro romântico.
Um dos problemas do mundo atual é exatamente esse. Pela primeira vez na história há uma quantidade gigantesca de informações disponíveis. O problema é saber fazer as perguntas. Como na piada: Se o amor é a resposta, qual é a pergunta?
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My attention was called by the way one of the questions, now legally forbidden, was made to blood donors:
"Have you had sexual intercourse with men who had sexual intercourse with other men and or their female partners?"
What seems strange is that this is a question practically impossible to answer, especially the second part. How will a person know who this female partner had intercourse with in the past? And this partner will by any chance know who her last partners had intercourse with, and so on? Not to mention that it is the sort of question that, besides probably not having an answer, is capable of completely ruining a romantic date.
One of the problems of the world today is precisely this. For the first time in history there is a gigantic quantity of information available. The problem is to know how to make the questions. Like in the joke: If love is the answer, what is the question?
"Have you had sexual intercourse with men who had sexual intercourse with other men and or their female partners?"
What seems strange is that this is a question practically impossible to answer, especially the second part. How will a person know who this female partner had intercourse with in the past? And this partner will by any chance know who her last partners had intercourse with, and so on? Not to mention that it is the sort of question that, besides probably not having an answer, is capable of completely ruining a romantic date.
One of the problems of the world today is precisely this. For the first time in history there is a gigantic quantity of information available. The problem is to know how to make the questions. Like in the joke: If love is the answer, what is the question?
