We are not this far in our understanding of the world around us. This isn’t a picture of a real thing.
This picture serves to bolster the religion of science. It is a feel-good picture, lending us a sense of control in interpreting its perfection. When in fact, this picture is a computer model with a miniscule foothold in reality, based on structural imaginings, parading as in silico with no consideration to protein conformation or materiality. This picture doesn’t represent the Sars-CoVid-19 virus in a meaningful way. The virus is more complicated and chaotic, less sure of itself and more compact. It isn’t this perfect.
This picture serves one purpose, and it is not a purpose supporting science. It only serves the purpose of marketing, a single-oriented drive to garnish belief those “selling” this picture know more than they know.
This picture is the modern day version of this: