We can, absolutely, say that PCR tests mean something when "positive" when run for X or fewer cycles and don't mean anything when run for X+1 or more. The inventor of PCR said (paraphrasing here) that if you run the process through enough cycles, you can find anything anywhere. The only question is "What is the appropriate value of X?" I…
We can, absolutely, say that PCR tests mean something when "positive" when run for X or fewer cycles and don't mean anything when run for X+1 or more. The inventor of PCR said (paraphrasing here) that if you run the process through enough cycles, you can find anything anywhere. The only question is "What is the appropriate value of X?" In the case of COVID, the researchers whose opinions I respected were saying numbers from about 23 to 28.
We can, absolutely, say that PCR tests mean something when "positive" when run for X or fewer cycles and don't mean anything when run for X+1 or more. The inventor of PCR said (paraphrasing here) that if you run the process through enough cycles, you can find anything anywhere. The only question is "What is the appropriate value of X?" In the case of COVID, the researchers whose opinions I respected were saying numbers from about 23 to 28.