The problem with these "something more than the flu going around" is how much of it were actual problems vs. perceived problems? Some people did get ill, but was it a toxin? Was it something they ate or drank?
I don't know. The problem is it wasn't universal, ubiquitous, and deadly, was it? It could also …
The problem with these "something more than the flu going around" is how much of it were actual problems vs. perceived problems? Some people did get ill, but was it a toxin? Was it something they ate or drank?
I don't know. The problem is it wasn't universal, ubiquitous, and deadly, was it? It could also very well could have been some sort of malnutrition. And there were a lot of negative narratives going around at the time. Can the cumulative effect of negativity have physiological ramifications?
The Chinese exchange student..is a product of our Hollywood contagion theory of disease. The problem is diseases don't work like that. RNA cannot pandemic. It mutates far too quickly. The guys from the Cochrane review will also tell you that only a very small percentage of what we attribute to "cold and flu" respiratory-like illness comes from "known sources." So we all could very well constantly be inundated by "novel sources" of these symptoms.
I also point at human nature. How many child abduction stories does it take before we all start keeping our children on a tighter leash? Highway sniper stories and there is a perception that at each exit ramp there lies a lone shooter. How many pit bull attacks before the kennels are full of rescue "bulls"?
I posted a Facebook post five years ago yesterday that featured the character from "Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy..but as a coronavirus with the caption "Don't Panic and Take All The Toilet Paper." It was already far too late.
Narratives. Gotta love narratives.
The problem with these "something more than the flu going around" is how much of it were actual problems vs. perceived problems? Some people did get ill, but was it a toxin? Was it something they ate or drank?
I don't know. The problem is it wasn't universal, ubiquitous, and deadly, was it? It could also very well could have been some sort of malnutrition. And there were a lot of negative narratives going around at the time. Can the cumulative effect of negativity have physiological ramifications?
The Chinese exchange student..is a product of our Hollywood contagion theory of disease. The problem is diseases don't work like that. RNA cannot pandemic. It mutates far too quickly. The guys from the Cochrane review will also tell you that only a very small percentage of what we attribute to "cold and flu" respiratory-like illness comes from "known sources." So we all could very well constantly be inundated by "novel sources" of these symptoms.
I also point at human nature. How many child abduction stories does it take before we all start keeping our children on a tighter leash? Highway sniper stories and there is a perception that at each exit ramp there lies a lone shooter. How many pit bull attacks before the kennels are full of rescue "bulls"?
I posted a Facebook post five years ago yesterday that featured the character from "Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy..but as a coronavirus with the caption "Don't Panic and Take All The Toilet Paper." It was already far too late.