Truth in Knowledge

Reading Home Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow by Yuval Noah Harari recently. Harari postulated that knowledge which does not change behavior is useless. But knowledge that changes behavior quickly loses its relevance. The more data we have and the better we understand history, the faster history alters its course, and the faster our knowledge becomes outdated.

Which leads to the need for the pursuit of truth, or the approach to the truth. If we change our behavior according to false information the outcome can be detrimental. At the same time, perhaps letting some people follow the false information is a way to approach the truth by weeding out the false information.

Low Density

Over the last few years, many companies are pushing for high density work space. Cubicles and offices have been torn down in favor of open floor plan. Large conference rooms were converted into smaller meeting rooms or just phone booths. As we reopen the work place after COVID-19, we are asking people to keep 2m (6ft) apart, which is complete opposite of such design. How will we do that? How about public transportation? Will society be encouraged to go back to driving, reversing the push for public transportation?

A New Beginning

Watched I am legend again last night. Noticed there is an alternate ending of the movie. Did a little research and realized that the book actually has a complete different ending and Dr. Robert Neville is a very different character in the book. Added the book to my Audible library, will have to read it next time.

Last week recruiters started calling and setting up interviews. Opportunities that were put on hold before started to pick up again. Finally people begin to accept that this will go on for a while and we need to take the situation as is and move forward. Jut like any business opportunity, the early adaptors will win out and take the leave in the new order.

The society and way of life as we know now, or rather, before COVID-19, has ended. This is a new beginning.

Apocalypse Now

Saw high winds, rain storms, hail and snow, one after the other all within the hour. It’s like the end of days scene in an apocalyptic movie. Given what’s going on now, it felt even more real. Still, it is just typical Chicago spring weather.

House Routine

Although we are all staying at home, under the same roof, yet we are all still following our own routines. Almost like we are in parallel universes, occupying the same space, but never intersect with each other. Except when we come together for dinner every night.

From 1 to 10

How are you feeling today? Any one feeling the cabin fever? It is ever more important during this time to reach out to our family and friends to check in on them, see how they are doing. Listen to the subtle hints of stress or depression. Lean on each other (virtually).

Hygienic Behavior

Interestingly, the top search results for hygienic behavior are all about bees. Perhaps, we can learn a thing or two from the bees.

Bees with the trait are able to detect, uncap, and remove infected pupae before they become infectious, slowing the spread of disease and the population growth of the mite.
https://beeinformed.org/2011/07/25/hygienic-behavior/

Hopefully in a few months, the results will all be about how we keep ourselves and the community clean and healthy; how we can stop the next pandemic on its track. Aside from washing hands and physical distancing, here are a few things I have heard and observed in the last few weeks since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sanitize the grocery, deliveries, takeouts before putting away or bringing them into the house. While COVID-19 is not a foodborne virus, the COVID-19 virus can still remain active on the surface of the packaging for a few hours.

Take off the shoes before entering the house. This practice is common in Asian households. When I first came to the U.S. I was a bit shocked to see people wearing their street shoes straight into the house, especially one with carpets. Glad to see this is catching on during this time. Hopefully it will stick and become a culture norm.

Wear mask in public places. Since the SARS outbreak in 2003, it’s common practice to wear masks in public places in Taiwan, especially in crowed places like on the transit systems. People may have the misconception that the mask is there to protect yourself from sickness. In fact it is there to protect others from getting infected.

Infodemic

Information + Epidemic = Infodemic

A sickness that infects the mind is spreading as fast as the sickness that infects our physical body. Fortunately the anti-body / vaccine is readily available for no cost and no pain. It’s called critical thinking. Everyone is capable of critical thinking. Unfortunately, most of us seem to turn it off by default. Even crazier is that the more outlandish the infodemic is the wider and faster it spreads. At this challenging time, when our physically world is under siege, it is ever more important to keep our mental guard up to stop any infodemic from taking place.

Social Tightening

A week into the full WFH (working from home), I can sense a few of my acquaintances are climbing the wall already. These are software engineers, who among all the people are most familiar with WFH. With all the things happening, the term “Social Distancing” is not helping. This is the time when we need our social group more than ever. While we must extend our physical distances, extended personal space?, we need to tighten our social bonds. Call your parents, text your friends, host a BYOB web meeting, give thanks to the mailman, delivery person, casher, and especially the health care staff.