This is your brain on pandemic

ABC 143: On forgetting how to be normal

The first day of spring felt particularly apt yesterday. As the days get longer and the vax selfies more common, I can’t help but feel something that resembles hope. And yet, the pandemic is far from over. I’m reminded of this tweet.

James Hamblin @jameshamblin

It’s March. By May the U.S. is expected to have enough vaccines for everyone. Cases are way down. But they’re still very high, and in a tenuous plateau. Ending precautions now is like entering the last miles of a marathon and taking off your shoes and eating several hot dogs.

One thing on my mind: we haven’t fully grappled with the second-order effects of our year of turning inward. Sure, there will be memes about our atrophying small-talk muscles and our societal shift toward introversion, but I imagine the consequences of the pandemic will continue to reveal themselves in slow and subtle ways.

I loved this list of questions the author of this week’s article is struggling to answer.

What time do parties end? How tall is my boss? What does a bar smell like? Are babies heavy? Does my dentist have a mustache? On what street was the good sandwich place near work, the one that toasted its bread? How much does a movie popcorn cost? What do people talk about when they don’t have a global disaster to talk about all the time? You have to wear high heels the whole night? 

Reading them validated the general absent-mindedness I’ve been feeling as of late. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the piece, that is if you can grasp them…

Here’s the piece: Late-Stage Pandemic Is Messing With Your Brain

Warmly,
Simo

P.S. The song of the week is 1 minute and 24 seconds long. The full playlist is here.