As I try on a daily basis to wrap my mind around the challenges facing us if we are to better humanity’s chances for survival, much of it boils down to technology — both biotech and cyber tech.
By some measures, we have advanced further and faster in the past half-century in these realms than all of the millennia preceding, so much so that we may also have outpaced our intellectual ability to keep up with those changes.
But we know our brains are capable of much more than we demand of them, so the problem now boils down to focusing on which concrete steps can we take at present to harness technology to solve the problem of our impending extinction as a species.
There *must* be a solution to climate change, for example, as our brains tell us in our most optimistic moments — we just have to imagine that solution and implement it. Then again, the global nature of a problem like planetary climate change makes it seem impossible to grasp in a form that yields those solutions — other than escape.
And escape, of course, is precisely what the billionaire-financed space travel and ideas of colonizing other planets are predicated on — escape for the few, the rich, the selfish — forget about the great unwashed masses left behind to deal with the mess which the few, the rich, and the selfish have so prodigiously profited from.
In this context, the battles over science vs. fantasy and truth vs. fiction come down in our brains to synthesizing the opposites. Thus science fiction predicts and (at least in Hollywood) solves many of our greatest problems, just as literary non-fiction solves many of the issues facing a conscientious writer trying to communicate essential truths in this most ambiguous of eras.
Ambiguity — or what might better be termed the state of not knowing — is a very difficult state to maintain as we struggle with these challenges. Yet that is where we find ourselves.
A litmus test in the age of not knowing is where do you come down — with pessimism or optimism. Our brains allow either option; only one, however, may lead us to solutions. And that is the hard one to sustain.
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TUESDAY’S HEADLINES:
The Omicron variant of coronavirus carries a "very high" global risk of surges, the WHO warned, as more countries reported cases, prompting border closures and reviving worries about the economic recovery from a two-year pandemic. (Reuters)
CDC Says Everyone 18 and Older Should Get Covid-19 Booster — The agency strengthened its recommendation as a result of the risk posed by the Omicron variant recently discovered. (WSJ)
Countries are shutting down their borders out of fear of the omicron coronavirus variant, even though scientists warned that it wasn't clear whether the newly identified version was more alarming than other variants. The rush reflects anxiety about anything that could prolong the pandemic that has killed more than 5 million people. [AP]
As omicron emerges, a tired public has little appetite for new restrictions (WP)
A semblance of calm returned to world markets as investors waited for more details to assess the severity of the Omicron coronavirus variant on the world economy, allowing battered stock markets and oil prices to recover. (Reuters)
Dr. Anthony Fauci urged Americans to get vaccinated in light of the new omicron variant of the coronavirus. Fauci said there is still much that is unknown about omicron, but that vaccines offer a proven level of protection. “It may not be as good in protecting against initial infection, but it has a very important impact on diminishing the likelihood that you’re going to get a severe outcome from it,” he said. [HuffPost]
Omicron Variant Has Vaccine Makers Preparing for Worst Case — Testing has just started, but drugmakers have expressed concern that Covid-19 vaccines won’t work as well against the new strain. (WSJ)
As scientists ask whether Omicron can outrun the Delta variant, one top infectious disease expert said existing COVID-19 vaccines are probably effective at preventing severe disease and hospitalization. (Reuters)
Will the coronavirus omicron variant disrupt the holidays? (SFC)
The New COVID Drugs Are a Bigger Deal Than People Realize (Atlantic)
Merriam-Webster chooses vaccine as the 2021 word of the year (AP)
Endless Covid winter of our discontent (Politico)
VIDEO: South African Scientists Advise Against Panic Over Omicron Variant— South African health officials said that while they need more data to be sure, existing precautions and treatments seem to be effective against the new coronavirus variant. (AP)
Whatever Happened to the Exceptions for Rape and Incest? (Atlantic)
Hunt for the ‘Blood Diamond of Batteries’ Impedes Green Energy Push — Dangerous mining conditions plague Congo, home to the world’s largest supply of cobalt, a key ingredient in electric cars. A leadership battle threatens reforms. (NYT)
With China under President Xi Jinping stepping up its military intimidation of Taiwan, the island’s pursuit of a potent undersea deterrent is becoming a reality. Read our special report. (Reuters)
‘Taste this, it’s salty’: how rising seas are ruining the Gambia’s rice farmers (Guardian)
World's first living robots can now reproduce, scientists say — Meet the xenobot: world's first living, self-healing robots created from frog stem cells(CNN)
The Science of Mind Reading (New Yorker)
Ex-Google workers sue company, saying it betrayed 'Don't Be Evil' motto (NPR)
‘They’re all begging me’: Trump’s 2024 veep tryouts get underway (Politico)
Russia will continue slowing down the speed of Twitter on mobile devices until all content deemed illegal is deleted, state communications regulator Roskomnadzor told Reuters, as Moscow continues to make demands of Big Tech. (Reuters)
‘Hate crime’ attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians spike in the West Bank(WP)
Taliban and 9/11 Families Fight for Billions in Frozen Afghan Funds — The White House must figure out what to do with the Afghan central bank’s account at the Federal Reserve, now blocked under U.S. law. (NYT)
Understanding the Body Electric (New Yorker)
Saudi Arabia and China are accused of using sports to cover up human rights abuse (NPR)
K-Pop sensation BTS are playing their first in-person concerts since the onset of the pandemic, and legions of die-hard fans have descended on Los Angeles to see their idols in the flesh. (Reuters)
Nonprofit Cofounders Have Screaming Match Over Whether Mission To Ignite Change Or Spark Community Impact (The Onion)
***
TUESDAY LYRICS:
“End of the Line”
(Songwriters: Robert Dylan / George Harrison / Jeffrey Lynne / Roy Kelton Orbison / Thomas Earl Petty)
Well, it's alright, ridin' around in the breeze
Well, it's alright, if you live the life you please
Well, it's alright, doin' the best you can
Well, it's alright, as long as you lend a hand
You can sit around and wait for the phone to ring (at the end of the line)
Waiting for someone to tell you everything (at the end of the line)
Sit around and wonder what tomorrow will bring (at the end of the line)
Maybe a diamond ring
Well, it's alright, even if they say you're wrong
Well, it's alright, sometimes you gotta be strong
Well, it's alright, as long as you got somewhere to lay
Well, it's alright, everyday is judgment day
Maybe somewhere down the road a ways (at the end of the line)
You'll think of me and wonder where I am these days (at the end of the line)
Maybe somewhere down the road when somebody plays (at the end of the line)
Purple Haze
Well, it's alright, even when push comes to shove
Well, it's alright, if you got someone to love
Well, it's alright, everything'll work out fine
Well, it's alright, we're going to the end of the line
Don't have to be ashamed of the car I drive (at the end of the line)
I'm just glad to be here, happy to be alive (at the end of the line)
And it don't matter if you're by my side (at the end of the line)
I'm satisfied
Well, it's alright, even if you're old and grey
Well, it's alright, you still got something to say
Well, it's alright, remember to live and let live
Well, it's alright, the best you can do is forgive
Well, it's alright (alright), riding around on the breeze
Well, it's alright (alright), if you live the life you please
Well, it's alright, even if the sun don't shine
Well, it's alright (alright), we're going to the end of the line
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