Herd Immunity

In the 1960s, nearly everybody was vaccinated.  Our parents grew up before many of the vaccines we got were even available, and saw the devastation wrought by polio, diphtheria, rubella, mumps, etc.  The people who developed the vaccines that made these diseases and others rare were heroes. 

For a number of reasons in the time since then, people have opted to not be vaccinated against many of these devastating diseases – and in some cases to not vaccinate their children.  They’ve been able to do this with relative impunity because they were protected by ‘herd immunity’; enough of us were vaccinated that, even when the rare person contracted one of these diseases, there wasn’t the reliable chain of contagion required to sustain an epidemic. 

Well, those chickens have come home to roost.  Complacency—combined with traditional beliefs and skepticism for scientific data—have led to increasing numbers of people opting out of immunizations.  Now there are enough gaps in herd immunity that a chain of disease vectors are passing on some of these diseases.  

Curiosity and Wisdom

Curiosity is to knowledge and wisdom what hunger is to good nutrition and physical fitness.  We are driven to satisfy these appetites, but how we do so makes a huge difference.  

When we make sound choices—taking in balanced insights from a variety of healthy sources; slowly savoring each concept, combining this with vigorous, thought-provoking exercise—we build a healthy, strong, mentally fit mind. 

But in our world of the internet, and 24/7 cable news, these healthy choices are hidden within a vast smorgasbord of junk ideas – easily digested, and superficially satisfying, but with little or no real value.  Like junk food, these offer instant gratification – which makes them highly addictive.  But like junk food, they are a poor substitute for a balanced diet of healthy options. 

Once acclimated to a junk diet and mentally sedentary lifestyle, the effort of integrating a healthy diet of more challenging ideas loses its appeal.  Over time, minds develop an intolerance, and lose the ability to digest anything that requires the slightest complex thought or rumination.  

Sunk languidly in their overstuffed easy chairs—wireless remote always within reach, ready to feed the addiction—inertia rules.  The addict becomes lazy, and mentally doughy, easy prey for even the most ludicrous of junk.