I might slightly disagree that "society" in general is a very tightly coupled system. Our (maybe your) version of society (urban society) is tightly coupled, but is also made up of super-intelligent, autonomous parts, ie humans. Those parts should be capable of self-sufficiency and resilience if there is a potentially catastrophic chain of events set in motion. But that resilience at an individual level, and by extension regional or global level is likely at an all-time low compared to even a century ago. There is no good reason for this, save the seemingly irresistible pull of cities on people that could otherwise spread out on the land and reassume responsibility for their own sustenance, including shelter and social life. Our society is tightly coupled due to most of us falling for the globalist lie that somehow cukes from Mexico will keep rolling up the highway come hell or high water. Our reliance on such systems has a compounding effect on the negative outcomes from something like a novel virus working its way through our population.
This is not me trying to puff out my chest and act like a tough guy, but I believe the hysterical reaction of many people to adverse events (looking at you COVID-19) is very much a function of lack of familiarity with high-risk situations, and the subsequent inability to assess, mitigate and power through these events. My reaction to COVID 19 was, "ok, danger lurks, how do we carry on without the hysterics?". You do not run from something without assessing why you are running. This is literally true for almost all the jobs I've done, where it may be a falling tree, or a chance encounter with a bear that you need to assess. Save for some loggers, commercial fisherman, military types or other high-risk occupations, most people these days just aren't mentally equipped for a proper fight-or-flight assessment, especially at any sort of speed. Watching people melt down over something well before the dangers were understood would have been funny to me were it not almost society-wide. I actually feel very sorry for people whose parents and society haven't helped better prepare them for the potential hazards of life.
Having said all that, I still believe that although our current iterations of civilization are ostensibly rightly coupled, we as humans have more than enough individual intelligence to work through, or around almost any calamity. If we were, on average, better equipped with the skills of risk assessment and resilience there would be very little other than a meteor strike that would cause us much of a sweat.
One of the treatments for my anxiety and depression (or whatever this shit is inside my head) is to lean into and seek out challenging or "dangerous" work and pastimes. The realization that many hazards are big ol' nothing burgers is the antidote to your fears.
Good distinction and one well-worth considering. The super-intelligent parts, when they are at their best, can do some amazing things, as we know. And I do agree with you that we can work through most calamities, since indeed we have. Not to tip my hat at what I'm working on too much, but it BLOWS MY MIND how we made it through the Black Death. The best answer I can give to how we did it is kinda lame/trite, but frankly it's all I got: we got through it because we just did. It had effects, for sure, as all pandemics do, but when stepping back, that's the real answer. We got through it because we had to; we had no choice. That kind of mentality is perhaps stronger than any other humans can muster.
I gotta say you and I are right on the same page with how we reacted to COVID-19 (plus my own impulse to look to history). I was all about "let's follow the science on this" but it became rapidly clear that--for one reason or another--that wasn't going to happen thanks to it getting politicized. Meltdowns over masks were mostly funny at first, but I totally understood the resistance to lockdowns, especially after more than two months had passed (especially in more progressive cities). What broke me--and I've said this elsewhere, I think--was the abject and, frankly, evil inconsistency progressives expressed regarding riots in summer of 2020, where people actually did die and billions of dollars of damage was caused. I will never let progressives forget "firy, but mostly peaceful", and I hope no one else will either.
But to your personal point about combating anxiety, I love it. ANYTHING that makes our existential dread reveal itself for what it is--big ol' nothing burgers indeed!--is good stuff. My other activities outside of history that have saved my sanity include, obviously, exercise, but also things like firing guns for the first time, going on long road trips with no real plan, and, of all things, trying new types of food. Everything that was once unknown becoming known is one of my favorite antidotes to anxiety.
Anyway, thanks for the comment man! Really appreciate the thoughtful response.
I agree with you 100% about the black death. I have to wonder if in times gone by we were just that much more accustomed to death, be it in infancy or combat or incurable disease, and maybe helped folks put one foot in front of the other. I've read of responses to the plague ranging from hysteria, to resigned acceptance, to solid plans to mitigate the effects and keep as many people alive as possible. My mind is always blown thinking about a society that somehow stays on its feet after something like a Mongol invasion, or Germans and Soviets fighting it out their country. As much as I think that we humans are full of all kinds of weakness and hypocrisy, our proven track record of resilience has to be admired.
It's good to hear that you have found some antidotes that work for you. I've known some people that have powered through some awful experiences and PTSD with just good old w-o-r-k. Or, at the very least, the work has done a good job of masking it and they're going to crumble someday!
I might slightly disagree that "society" in general is a very tightly coupled system. Our (maybe your) version of society (urban society) is tightly coupled, but is also made up of super-intelligent, autonomous parts, ie humans. Those parts should be capable of self-sufficiency and resilience if there is a potentially catastrophic chain of events set in motion. But that resilience at an individual level, and by extension regional or global level is likely at an all-time low compared to even a century ago. There is no good reason for this, save the seemingly irresistible pull of cities on people that could otherwise spread out on the land and reassume responsibility for their own sustenance, including shelter and social life. Our society is tightly coupled due to most of us falling for the globalist lie that somehow cukes from Mexico will keep rolling up the highway come hell or high water. Our reliance on such systems has a compounding effect on the negative outcomes from something like a novel virus working its way through our population.
This is not me trying to puff out my chest and act like a tough guy, but I believe the hysterical reaction of many people to adverse events (looking at you COVID-19) is very much a function of lack of familiarity with high-risk situations, and the subsequent inability to assess, mitigate and power through these events. My reaction to COVID 19 was, "ok, danger lurks, how do we carry on without the hysterics?". You do not run from something without assessing why you are running. This is literally true for almost all the jobs I've done, where it may be a falling tree, or a chance encounter with a bear that you need to assess. Save for some loggers, commercial fisherman, military types or other high-risk occupations, most people these days just aren't mentally equipped for a proper fight-or-flight assessment, especially at any sort of speed. Watching people melt down over something well before the dangers were understood would have been funny to me were it not almost society-wide. I actually feel very sorry for people whose parents and society haven't helped better prepare them for the potential hazards of life.
Having said all that, I still believe that although our current iterations of civilization are ostensibly rightly coupled, we as humans have more than enough individual intelligence to work through, or around almost any calamity. If we were, on average, better equipped with the skills of risk assessment and resilience there would be very little other than a meteor strike that would cause us much of a sweat.
One of the treatments for my anxiety and depression (or whatever this shit is inside my head) is to lean into and seek out challenging or "dangerous" work and pastimes. The realization that many hazards are big ol' nothing burgers is the antidote to your fears.
Good distinction and one well-worth considering. The super-intelligent parts, when they are at their best, can do some amazing things, as we know. And I do agree with you that we can work through most calamities, since indeed we have. Not to tip my hat at what I'm working on too much, but it BLOWS MY MIND how we made it through the Black Death. The best answer I can give to how we did it is kinda lame/trite, but frankly it's all I got: we got through it because we just did. It had effects, for sure, as all pandemics do, but when stepping back, that's the real answer. We got through it because we had to; we had no choice. That kind of mentality is perhaps stronger than any other humans can muster.
I gotta say you and I are right on the same page with how we reacted to COVID-19 (plus my own impulse to look to history). I was all about "let's follow the science on this" but it became rapidly clear that--for one reason or another--that wasn't going to happen thanks to it getting politicized. Meltdowns over masks were mostly funny at first, but I totally understood the resistance to lockdowns, especially after more than two months had passed (especially in more progressive cities). What broke me--and I've said this elsewhere, I think--was the abject and, frankly, evil inconsistency progressives expressed regarding riots in summer of 2020, where people actually did die and billions of dollars of damage was caused. I will never let progressives forget "firy, but mostly peaceful", and I hope no one else will either.
But to your personal point about combating anxiety, I love it. ANYTHING that makes our existential dread reveal itself for what it is--big ol' nothing burgers indeed!--is good stuff. My other activities outside of history that have saved my sanity include, obviously, exercise, but also things like firing guns for the first time, going on long road trips with no real plan, and, of all things, trying new types of food. Everything that was once unknown becoming known is one of my favorite antidotes to anxiety.
Anyway, thanks for the comment man! Really appreciate the thoughtful response.
I agree with you 100% about the black death. I have to wonder if in times gone by we were just that much more accustomed to death, be it in infancy or combat or incurable disease, and maybe helped folks put one foot in front of the other. I've read of responses to the plague ranging from hysteria, to resigned acceptance, to solid plans to mitigate the effects and keep as many people alive as possible. My mind is always blown thinking about a society that somehow stays on its feet after something like a Mongol invasion, or Germans and Soviets fighting it out their country. As much as I think that we humans are full of all kinds of weakness and hypocrisy, our proven track record of resilience has to be admired.
It's good to hear that you have found some antidotes that work for you. I've known some people that have powered through some awful experiences and PTSD with just good old w-o-r-k. Or, at the very least, the work has done a good job of masking it and they're going to crumble someday!
second the "twisted little anxiety-riddled beast" part
second the "twisted little anxiety-riddled beast" part
I like this a lot. Although it ends on a dark note. 🤖👺😑