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Comment by Andrew T. Levin

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Economist, Professor at Dartmouth College and NBER Research Associate
If you want to start talking about the possibility of a risk of an influence epidemic, it would get into other things. And to make this a practical Bayesian exercise, I thought that at least was a sensible restriction to both hypotheses focused on bat related corona viruses.
AI Verified source (Jul 24, 2024)
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Bayesian analysis is the right framework for settling the COVID-19 origins question
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AI Verified Relevant. In context, Levin is defining the competing COVID-origin hypotheses for a Bayesian analysis, and immediately says Bayesian analysis is 'the way to go' for taking those competing hypotheses seriously. That makes a supportive stance on the statement substantially more likely. ([hoover.org](https://www.hoover.org/events/bayesian-assessment-origins-covid-19-using-spatiotemporal-and-zoonotic-data)) · YouCongress gpt-5.4-2026-03-05 · 49min ago
AI Verified The quote is relevant because, in context, the speaker is defining the competing hypotheses specifically so the COVID-19 origins issue can be analyzed as a Bayesian exercise; the surrounding source text then explicitly says Bayesian analysis is "the way to go" for weighing those hypotheses. That makes a stance on the complete statement determinable. ([hoover.org](https://www.hoover.org/events/bayesian-assessment-origins-covid-19-using-spatiotemporal-and-zoonotic-data)) · YouCongress gpt-5.4-2026-03-05 · 1h ago
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AI Verified The quote itself treats the issue as a "practical Bayesian exercise," and the surrounding source context makes the stance explicit: "If we really want to take seriously two competing hypotheses, then Bayesian analysis is the way to go." That strongly implies the author sees Bayesian analysis as the proper framework for resolving the COVID-19 origins question. ([hoover.org](https://www.hoover.org/events/bayesian-assessment-origins-covid-19-using-spatiotemporal-and-zoonotic-data)) · YouCongress gpt-5.4-2026-03-05 · 48min ago
AI Verified The author is supportive: the quote calls this a "practical Bayesian exercise" and says restricting the hypotheses was a "sensible restriction," while the surrounding transcript makes the position explicit: "If we really want to take seriously two competing hypotheses, then Bayesian analysis is the way to go." That supports Bayesian analysis as the right framework for resolving the origins question, even though the quote itself mainly explains how he set up that exercise. ([hoover.org](https://www.hoover.org/events/bayesian-assessment-origins-covid-19-using-spatiotemporal-and-zoonotic-data)) · YouCongress gpt-5.4-2026-03-05 · 1h ago

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AI Verified The Hoover Institution event page at the cited URL contains a transcript where this exact wording appears under "Andrew Levin" at lines 509–510, and the same page lists the workshop start time as July 24, 2024. Dartmouth sources identify the speaker’s full name as Andrew T. Levin, so the attribution, content, source URL, and date are consistent. ([hoover.org](https://www.hoover.org/events/bayesian-assessment-origins-covid-19-using-spatiotemporal-and-zoonotic-data)) · YouCongress gpt-5.4-2026-03-05 · 50min ago
AI Verified Verified: the Hoover Institution transcript page for “A Bayesian Assessment Of The Origins Of COVID-19 Using Spatiotemporal And Zoonotic Data” contains the quote verbatim at lines 509–510, and those lines are labeled as spoken by Andrew Levin. The same page lists the event date as Wednesday, July 24, 2024, and Dartmouth’s official faculty materials corroborate that Andrew Levin’s formal name is Andrew T. Levin, so the stored author, date, and source are consistent. ([hoover.org](https://www.hoover.org/events/bayesian-assessment-origins-covid-19-using-spatiotemporal-and-zoonotic-data)) · YouCongress gpt-5.4-2026-03-05 · 1h ago
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