Ebola and Other Non-Issues

Ebola and Other Non-Issues

   The above type of "shock" wording and heading are sometimes used by different media to grab your attention.  In this case, I used the words to yes, get your attention and to answer some of the inquiries about why I haven't covered some of the major issues, newsworthy items such as the Ebola virus and climate change, or the shifting of what city will head the EU as well as our increasing usage of water (and the shortage it is creating).  And the simple answer is...this is a blog.

   Such elaborate and complex issues take far more research and space than a standard blog can accommodate (imagine trying to read an editorial and realizing that one day, instead of two paragraphs, it was two full pages).  Issues such as Ebola and climate change can and do change almost daily, frustrating both editors and readers alike, for such issues take lots of research, much of it ongoing.  And as much as we (as readers) would care for a quick synopsis in our over-informed world, such details are and can be found elsewhere (such as Richard Preston's prescient book on the Ebola virus, The Hot Zone, written twenty years ago!).

   This is not to say that I wouldn't try to add an update or two about such subjects, perhaps a slanted (coming from a non-scientist) interpretation of how the Ebola virus differs from other infectious diseases and viruses.  But again, such views would come from other sources (which I attempt to always credit and link to), sources more qualified in their respective fields and sources successfully navigating the convoluted maze of fact checking.  For the most part, such detailed research is best left to those deeply immersed in that particular field.  And of course, such research should arrive in scientific and commercial journals, and not blogs such as this.

   But then we, all of us, are readers after all.  And part of what I find fascinating is how our interests are indeed steered in one direction or another.  This can come from childhood or moving to another country (where you don't speak the language) or even through our evolving brain and senses.  One example comes from the book I'm currently reading, Living With A Wild God by Barbara Ehrenreich.  Raised by atheist parents, she experienced something quite "mystical" in her words, all at an early age, which made her begin an elaborate journal questioning our purpose in life and why were we here.  Even as a child, she began trying different religions, from Jewish to Hindu to Christianity, looking for an answer.  Then, after ten years, she stopped, sealed her journal and never told anyone about it, not her husband, not her parents, not her closest friends...until now.  Still an atheist, she looks back some fifty years later and begins questioning again, this time with a slew of life experiences behind her.  As she puts it, What had happened did not occupy any category that intersected with my central adult concerns, such as making a living and taking care of my family while at the same time doing what little I could to try and reduce the amount of cruelty in the world.  Besides, despite what I like to think of as continual improvements in my ability to express myself, when it came to this one topic, there were no words.

   A visit from another friend of mine talked of his brain slowly adapting to not only a language, but the nuances within that language, in this case, distinguishing the Scottish from the Irish accent, and the Irish from the British accent (he lives in London but his native language is Slovak).  It's something we don't think about but for someone learning English (he's more than fluent in English however the Slovak language, as he told me, is much more to the point with no ambiguity and that was what he felt was the most difficult part of learning English), he observed his friends and co-workers adapting quickly to his accent and how fast it has all happened, how rapidly our brains can shift to the situation.

   The bottom line is that much of what we read or choose to read (or listen to) might be an illusion without us being aware of it.  Scientific American featured a quick series of ten visual illusions, but one fascinating one (you'll have to scroll through them) was an image of lovers.  If you're an adult, it jumps out at you almost immediately.  But read the caption and it'll tell you that children viewing the same image don't see that at all, but only see dolphins.  It proves an interesting trial to see how long it would take your mind to shift to that "child" mode, a mode enabling you to see only dolphins...you may be surprised.

   So, is this all an illusion?  Is that what we view as important or an issue something that continually shifts inside our brains.  As with writing or not writing about Ebola or the climate, these are views of the subjects I form in my mind (and who knows where it all comes from).  And it's not to say that I won't come back and tackle at least a small part of each subject, for they are far from "non-issues" if you are deeply involved in them or if you are personally affected or know someone who is.  Our viewpoints are, well, our views, our opinions of what matters in this world, much as this blog reflects on me.  But it always good to give our minds a chance to shift, to adapt to a changing world for we may be surprised to discover that (as with my friend) it happens more quickly than we imagine...or that it all might be an illusion until we look at it differently.