This Sucks

The quarantine feels like an unbearable cost because we do not have much to compare this experience with. For the majority of the population, something like this has never happened before so despite the knowledge that shutting down for a currently indefinite period of time, albeit a most definitely short period when compared to the grand scheme of things, is difficult to appreciate because we haven’t experienced a situation comparably worse than this. We’ve only experienced one other lifestyle, which is that of our normal lives so therefore we have the tendency to exaggerate how terrible quarantining really is. Consider the first time you received a 5 dollar bill or some other small amount for the first time from your parents. Whether it be as a gift from the tooth fairy or an allowance for doing your chores, that first five-dollar note you receive feels like a really serious amount. As a matter of fact, it is the most serious and greatest amount of money you have ever owned. You feel this despite the knowledge that other monetary amounts exist such as a ten, fifty, and hundred dollar bill. Despite the fact that other bills exist, the most you can perceive at the time is the value of the five-dollar bill because you are comparing it to the zero dollars you had beforehand. The same phenomenon can occur when we lament that quarantine is unbearable. We are comparing it against when things were normal when there was zero quarantine. This provides a skewed perception of our current state that not only leads to a more negative experience during our social distancing but also can contribute to decisions that potentially undermine the whole point of our collective actions. Actions such as not following the proper guidelines or prioritizing opening up business before it is safe to do so. By exacerbating a negative, but certainly not terrible experience when compared with alternative worse outcomes, we fall prey to the assumption that we are solely in quarantine to return to normalcy and forget the fact that we are also doing this to prevent more suffering and death. 

German physicist Max Planck once said that science advances one funeral at a time. The original sentiment of this statement was that science advances not necessarily because new discoveries convince other scientists but rather that those who hold opposing views to new discoveries may die over time and therefore new science can take root once the old ideas and their proponents quite literally perish. Another interpretation of Planck’s statement is equally morbid but does provide an alternative view of progress through the lens of death. This view stipulates that we only make progress when lives are stake. Only when there are casualties can progress be made because it is only then that the general population begins to take the issue seriously. This second train of thought applies more aptly to our current situation with the coronavirus pandemic. We are currently in a state of quarantine where it is easy to remember what we have lost in terms of our social liberties that were once taken for granted but it is hard to imagine the consequences of not taking such actions because they have not fully happened yet (and hopefully won’t). While Planck’s words do hold some truth, we can, through collective action, make sure that they do not hold any truth this time. That progress can be made without the necessity of death to stoke action. If you always look at the rearview mirror, then you might miss the better things up ahead. Keep things in perspective.