The pandemic has left me a lot more time than usual to sit around and think - but not enough time (yet) to turn all that thinking into useful writing.
Here's the current 'big board', a list of ideas that grew out of the pandemic which I may - or may not - end up writing about in greater detail.
Obedience
I once read that great failures start with the wrong form of obedience. I used to think about it in terms of working for a corporation but it seems to apply better to public health. Disobeying certain community advisories is merely a form of obedience to a larger idea of individualism, liberty, and freedom.
Surprised or inevitable?
The pandemic has the potential to forever change political ideology. The main rift could separate those who saw COVID-19 as a disruption, a one-off from which we can do no more than return to normal, from those who saw it as a consequence, a natural result of every decision made in the past century. In short, the answer to the question - was the pandemic a surprise, or inevitable? - will matter more in determining political ideology than anything that seemed to count in the past decade.
Innocence and experience
Another major shift will result from people grounding beliefs in experience rather than ideology. If you thought it was hard to talk to people who were offended by your ideas, wait until they suspect you are denying their experience of the first half of 2020.
Mass culture
What is the point of 'participation' in something that, by its very nature, is unaffected by your participation? Why do we miss it? This is a retrofit of an old post that I started writing and threw away, the main idea initially being that I had started noticing a plummeting feeling each time I watched the TV, slowly, fading to black.
Expertise
We seek the counsel of lone 'experts' but true expertise is the consensus of a large group of, well, experts. Should we listen to individuals at all, or should we find a way to give a unified voice to groups that know best about a given topic, concept, or situation?
