– “Most unscientific I know but, as a non-specialist, how could it be otherwise?”
By inspecting evidence.
If Yeadon were right, infection numbers and mortality could not be rising rapidly now, but they are. There are dozens of examples; look at all the US states that “opened up” only to lock down again shortly thereafter. Wherever social restrictions have been lifted too much, infections have begun to increase.
– “my opinion is entirely subjective, based upon nothing but an intuitive feeling that he (Ioannidis) is an honest and decent person”
In practical terms it makes no difference whether some theory is an honest mistake or a malicious lie. But if someone bypasses the scientific forums and presents directly to the public – especially someone like Yeadon, who has worked among scientists for years and must have seen many scientific misapprehensions corrected during scientific discussion – it’s a fair sign that they’re insulating their assertions from critical scrutiny.
Anyone can reason scientifically. You see a coffee flask but you’re not sure how much coffee is in it, so you pick it up and shake it a bit to find out – that’s an experiment. We all do experiments every day.
How long have you been an “admirer of Ioannidis”? I’d never heard of him before SARS-CoV-2. Now, I wouldn’t be able to miss him. That suggests a massive increase in media exposure. That in turn adds weight to my theory that the major motivator of the media is to promote the making of profit.