Coffee owes its global ascendancy to a fortuitous evolutionary accident: The chemical compound that the plant makes to defend itself against insects happens to alter human consciousness in ways we find desirable, making us more energetic and industrious—and notably better workers. That chemical of course is caffeine, which is now the world’s most popular psychoactive drug, used daily by 80 percent of humanity. (It is the only such drug we routinely give to our children, in the form of soda.) Along with the tea plant, which produces the same compound in its leaves, coffee has helped create exactly the kind of world that coffee needs to thrive: a world driven by consumer capitalism, ringed by global trade, and dominated by a species that can now barely get out of bed without its help.
In 1973, America watched as then President Richard Nixon vehemently declared on national television, “I am not a crook” in regards to the Watergate scandal.
Not many people believed him.
In fact, as soon as he uttered the word “crook,” most people immediately envisioned a crook.
The major mistake Nixon made was in his framing. By saying the word “crook,” he evoked an image, experience, or knowledge associated with crook in the minds of everyone watching. Even by negating a frame–like Nixon was doing–framing is so influential that the frame first gets activated, then becomes stronger.
As the coronavirus continues to spread in the U.S., more and more businesses are sending employees off to work from home. Public schools are closing, universities are holding classes online, major events are getting canceled, and cultural institutions are shutting their doors. Even Disney World and Disneyland are set to close. The disruption of daily life for many Americans is real and significant — but so are the potential life-saving benefits.
It's all part of an effort to do what epidemiologists call flattening the curve of the pandemic. The idea is to increase social distancing in order to slow the spread of the virus, so that you don't get a huge spike in the number of people getting sick all at once. If that were to happen, there wouldn't be enough hospital beds or mechanical ventilators for everyone who needs them, and the U.S. hospital system would be overwhelmed. That's already happening in Italy.
Kentucky has the unfortunate distinction of being No. 1 in incidence and mortality rates of cancer per capita in the United States, and the eastern part of it faces significantly higher rates of mortality and morbidity, due to heart and lung disease, diabetes, and cancer, than the rest of the state and country. Because of that, the region, of which the population is less than 15 percent of the entire state, has become a microcosm of the vast gulf between the critical importance of preventative care and the myriad factors that might prevent vulnerable populations from seeking it, leading to unnecessary pain, distress, and untimely deaths, even as medical treatments become more advanced and insurance more available.
Not clickbait, but I like his channel, and as he notes every time you mention Coronavirus you get more clicks and more watches, and more profits. It's kind of like the television news.