>>And someone can mistake those as early flu symptoms. Surely you realize that any intelligent person can list a dozen alternate reasons that someone (even a physician) might mistake for something else. And surely you realize that 10 different people might feel the weight of symptoms differently.

Doesn't matter. In medicine the challenge is to peer through a glass darkly and notice trends and syndromes that have a statistical attachment to an outcome that matters. And then qualified policymakers balance the strength of the association and the seriousness of the outcome to devise a rational response.

In the case of Ebola, onset of symptoms has a strong association to risk for others. Absence of symptoms has no such association. That's the basis for a rational response including wide acceptance that somebody who potentially was exposed and now has a fever, ought to be isolated. This is not a "mistake" if they turn out to be negative: the public is protected and every quarantined healthcare provider understands why it has to be. Of course it has to be done decently- quarantined people are not criminals and they have families and outside obligations with which they may need assistance while their liberty is denied by society.

>>I reiterate my point - you can't put imprecision on one side of the equation and precision on the other side.

The human body was not designed by fellow geeks to satisfy us and there is no user manual that defines both sides of the equation. In the case of Ebola, the arrival of symptoms is strongly connected to risk for others. Absence of symptoms is not. If that's too vague for you, then don't give up your day job. ;-)

>>Different angle: a wild animal (one capable of having rabies) bites you, and then runs away. You have no chance to catch it. Gonna wait if/until you feel symptomatic (and trust the precision of when you first feel symptomatic) to go get some rabies shots, or will you immediately drive to the first emergency room and beg for rabies shots? Not the same circumstances but hopefully you see what I'm getting at.

With respect, that's a newbie argument. How you treat yourself for your personal risk may well be different from how the Duck Dynasty dudes would respond to the same event, and consider how people might respond if Fudmeisters demanded 21 days of quarantine because you were bitten by a stoat and might start frothing at the mouth and biting people.