You think what...?

[olivermoss]

Anyone else coming to the realization that the impact of incubation periods on exponential growth of viruses was basic survival information when they came of age? Due to the AIDS crisis? This appears to be brand new information for a lot of people. I was looking at FB* this morning and thinking 'how ... why .... how are you reacting like this? How do you not know how viruses work, you're gay!'

( *I hate being on FB and have been off of it for several long multi-year stretches. But I miss important social and also work opportunities if I am not there. Fuck I hate modern social media.)

Anyway, this is brand new info to a lot of people. When I came of age multiple organizations were trying to reach everyone and trying to explain it in a wide variety of ways to reach an many different types of learners as possible. This was basic survival info. But, people in other demographics didn't have that.

A lot of what scientists have said about this outbreak seemed very intuitive to me. I stocked up early and the progression hasn't been a surprise. It's been scary, but I've been aware it was going to hit the US and other places well before it did. I laid in a few jars of peanut butter and some other items back in Mid-Feb. (Though I would love a refresh on a few items right now. My f'ing bread decided to immediately mold)

I think part of what is going on right now is that a lot of people have a very deep, visceral response to certain risks and other people ... really don't get exponential growth outbreak models or the impact of long incubation periods. When something is basic survival info, it's weirdly hard to explain.

Obviously some people of other demographics get the math, but for people of certain backgrounds this is deeply ingrained survival info much like 'look both ways before crossing the street.'

Comments

this

[oldtoadwoman]

I think we've all internalized the movie trope of 100% contagion. Zombie movies, alien infections, dramatized outbreaks… everyone exposed to a movie outbreak catches the disease and, with rare exceptions for the loved one of the hero, anyone who gets sick dies. Nitpickers will even criticize if they can point to a moment in the film where Character A and Character B touched the same doorknob and will point out that "in the real world" Character B should have died.

So some people take this idea and obsessively clean everything and isolate themselves (a healthy response) and other people take this idea and use the "low" death rates as proof that COVID-19 is nothing, "just like a cold", et cetera. I think they are literally comparing this outbreak to imaginary movie epidemics and thus dismissing it as trivial.

My sister was honestly lecturing me yesterday about how you shouldn't stop shaking hands because it's "just a virus" and that all you need to do to protect yourself is eat tomatoes and oranges and garlic. She was perfectly serious.

Re: this

[olivermoss]

Modeling based on zombie movies would explain the TP hoarding.

I never got into zombie stuff or watched films about epidemics, so I am missing that social messaging ;)

It's possible I've had Covid-19 and my system shrugged it off. That is why I started curtailing my activities as soon as I was back from LA.