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Covid-19 or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Virus (not really)

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Mar 27, 2020

Stick figure clears throat next to rolling tumbleweed in a desert with a sun and birds. Text: "Rona, IS THAT YOU?" and "*CLEARS THROAT*". "@VERSUSTHEMACHINES" in corner.

Foreword

Needless to say, the world is very different today compared to a few weeks ago. Things have more or less come to a standstill in a way that was recently unimaginable. With that in mind, I think it affords some of us the opportunity to become just a bit:

  1. Less afraid to miss out on what is out there, and more likely to fear missing out on what is here, now.
  2. More aware of just how equal we all are in some ways, and how incredibly unequal we are in others.
  3. More epistemically demanding of those we allow to take positions of power around us.

References

Cacioppo, J. T., & Hawkley, L. C. (2009). Perceived social isolation and cognition. Trends in cognitive sciences, 13(10), 447-454.

Cacioppo, J. T., Hawkley, L. C., Norman, G. J., & Berntson, G. G. (2011). Social isolation. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1231(1), 17.

Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2010). Self‐determination. The Corsini encyclopedia of psychology, 1-2.

Marmot, M. (2004). Status syndrome. Significance, 1(4), 150-154.

About the Author

A smiling man stands in an office, wearing a dark blazer and black shirt, with plants and glass-walled rooms in the background.

Dr. Sekoul Krastev

Sekoul is a Co-Founder and Managing Director at The Decision Lab. He is a bestselling author of Intention - a book he wrote with Wiley on the mindful application of behavioral science in organizations. A decision scientist with a PhD in Decision Neuroscience from McGill University, Sekoul's work has been featured in peer-reviewed journals and has been presented at conferences around the world. Sekoul previously advised management on innovation and engagement strategy at The Boston Consulting Group as well as on online media strategy at Google. He has a deep interest in the applications of behavioral science to new technology and has published on these topics in places such as the Huffington Post and Strategy & Business.

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