Mental Health & Society

As I mentioned previously, I've been marooned in Poland for a few months due to the coronavirus pandemic. Poland, along with several other Eastern European countries, implemented a very severe lockdown.

"Now is the winter of our discontent," begins Richard III, one of Shakespeare's most famous plays.

I like Steven Pinker. He has no idea who I am, though I once met him and forced him to take a picture with me. How could I not? He's got fantastic hair. But his awe-inspiring lion's mane isn't the only reason I like him.

Despite COVID-19 being a public health crisis, we have politicized our understanding of the disease.

Everybody likes to consider themselves open-minded. (Few, if any, people would proudly claim, "Nah, I'm closed-minded.") Like kindness and humility, open-mindedness is widely perceived as a good character trait.

Our world faces many serious problems. Just under one billion people do not have electricity. Millions die every year in abject poverty due to lack of access to basic necessities, such as clean food and water and healthcare.

Which snowflake caused the avalanche? It's a ridiculous question because we all know the answer: Blame can't be placed on any particular snowflake; it was the accumulation of billions of them that caused the avalanche.

There's been much hand-wringing (and flat-out denial) in some circles about the demographic crisis facing Japan and several European countries. The citizens of both aren't having enough children to replace themselves.

"Abolish billionaires." That's the new tagline of former Labor Secretary Robert Reich and those who believe that a large accumulation of wealth is inherently unjust.

When people ask me if there are any health threats they need to worry about, only one actually comes to mind: Car accidents. Every year, about 40,000 Americans die in car crashes.