Hello everyone,<p>Like many of you, I've been following closely the spread of Covid-19 over the past few weeks.<p>I can't help but think that, as a software engineer, there might be something I could do to contribute positively to the situation.<p>However since my knowledge regarding viruses, vaccines development process, containment methods and other relevant subjects is somewhat limited, I'm posting in the hopes that I can gather some ideas from the more experienced people in here regarding this.
Start Folding at Home? The current issue is that you can't specifically select the Covid-19 work unit until they release a new client. If that's not enough it appears they need help in their software development so that a new client release isn't required for new work units.
<a href="https://foldingathome.org/2020/02/27/foldinghome-takes-up-the-fight-against-covid-19-2019-ncov/" rel="nofollow">https://foldingathome.org/2020/02/27/foldinghome-takes-up-th...</a>
The case count, ex China, appears to be doubling every three days. It was at 10K on Mar 1.<p>Do the math on that (10M on Apr 1, 10B on May 1) and it's entirely possible that this will all pretty much have happened before much can be done technically or scientifically.<p>I'd love to hear that I'm totally wrong on this.<p><a href="https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/coronavirus-cases/#case-tot-outchina" rel="nofollow">https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/coronavirus-cases/...</a>
<a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22467061" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22467061</a><p>Probably twelve other people will post or have already posted similar questions. Maybe there should be a master thread somewhere or a pinned thread at the top of the front page (or the top of the <i>Ask</i> section) or something.
It's naive to think that you can just walk in and solve problems directly in a domain you know nothing about; you'd just be in the way. Also, you don't say anything about what level or variety of software skills you have, so it's impossible for anyone to provide specific suggestions since the odds that they'll match your skill set are low.<p>The best advice I can give is look around at the information streams you have available and where there are gaps in that which you wish you knew more about. Try plugging one of those gaps by connecting together APIs from different services or suchlike, and see if after a day of two of doing so you feel significantly better informed. If that's the case then share it with others here and incorporate their feedback.
Wash your hands. Don't touch your face.<p>Seriously, this must be the pinnacle of the "I'm a software developer, therefore I can make big contributions to anything, without knowing the first thing about it" illusion that's so rampant on HN.<p>Usually we see it in the fields of the legal profession and finance, though.