32 Comments

We used to get Cholera and die from contaminated water. Now we have incredibly safe drinking water in the US.

But...

We've over sanitized everything and our gut needs bacteria to form a biome. It literally changes our gut brain and is a large cause of our anxiety. (the $5 word is Psychobiotics)

Yes, we don't die of Cholera

But we have Anxiety from poor gut health anyway.

Expand full comment

This is really another version of unexpected consequences, isn't it? They're everywhere.

Expand full comment

It's because problems that are reduced too simply always result that way. Life is wicked complex.

Expand full comment

And, only those who are super plugged in and have the time to stop and think can even begin to comprehend all of this mess! Everything else is moving in the other direction, away from nuance and toward simple answers. Meanwhile, reality is continuing to become ever more complex, with no end in sight.

Expand full comment

Hence why I talk about systems thinking and intentional reframing so much. We need to be stepping back a lot more as it gets complex.

Expand full comment

I really enjoyed this article. It opened my mind to a broader way of looking at modern day issues

Expand full comment

I'm so glad! I love giving folks a new lens. That's really all I want to do: think about this THIS way for a sec.

Expand full comment

I believe we've already talked about this under another post of yours, but phages are a promising way to deal with bacteria. In a nutshell, the better a bacteria is at resisting antiobiotics, the more susceptible it is to a targeted bacteriophage. And vice versa. So if we can identify and cultivate the right phages for the right bacteria, it'd be our way out of the self-created antiobiotic-resistant bacteria crisis.

Also, I assume you're familiar with the "Yes, but" series of cartoons? https://www.instagram.com/_yes_but/

Expand full comment

Dang, I wasn't until just now. Thanks!

Yes to phages. I want to learn more about microbiology and then write about it.

Expand full comment

I think you can take this line of thinking way way back too. Whenever a new technology comes along, I like to think of the controlled use of fire for our ancestors. Imagine nighttime in human communities before hearths to keep you warm-it would have been much colder and scarier but I also think it’s possible humans had an intimacy and connectivity with each other that we can’t imagine, since without fire they would have depended on each other for warmth and protection. So with each new technology something is always lost as well as gained

Expand full comment

Yes! These trade-offs are universal throughout all of human existence, and going way back is a great way to think about this.

Expand full comment

I love this, I know so many people who blanket the world with, “things are better now!” It’s never that simple. There is always more to the story. It can be a anxiety inducing to start looking at the bad with the good, but it’s a critical step to moving forward or improving.

Expand full comment

Yes! That being said, today is certainly the best time to be alive (broadly speaking). More things are better, and civilization does bend upward... it just takes a lot of jagged turns both up and down in the short run, sort of like a stock market chart if you zoom out far enough.

But just because today is better than a thousand years ago, does not mean EVERY aspect of life is better. Far from it, in fact.

Expand full comment

There is much to be done, and that’s ok.... that’s what I tell myself anyway, lol.

Expand full comment

That was quite a plot twist, well done, lured me in with Dink-Dink...works every time! I've turned to nature for minor treatment needs for myself (not pets) and have met with success using Echinacea with Golden Seal at the first tickle of a sore throat, honey for minor cuts/scrapes and garlic did wonders on a mouth injury sustained over a holiday weekend, it amazes me how well they work!

Expand full comment

That's fantastic! I was just talking about how traditional treatments including what we consider today "spices" were really effective (and still are). These things don't work for everything, but when they do work (quite a lot of the time), I love to use them instead of a pharmaceutical approach.

Expand full comment

I mean, you know I'm here for any discussions of Dink-Dink. <3 And thank you for rescuing and fostering. We can save them all.

I suspect that for every issue that there is any kind of widespread disagreement on, there is a legitimate "yes but" if it would be a point of settled agreement by now. (And there's even "yes but's" for points of settled agreement, as you point out.

The problem is, of course, that "yes but" is the kind of thing that gets people blocked and unfriended and canceled and such, because one of the things that's changed is that most people seem to have no tolerance at any for being disagreed with, esp on important things. Most of my "yes buts" have.... not gone well. We'll see how things go on the Abbey, once I start writing what I founded it in order to write. 🤔

Expand full comment

Yes, but... we really do need more nuanced conversation. The world is so complex. I think that's a huge reason why I'm here at all - this was not available to me via traditional social media platforms.

Expand full comment

We do, but I have had too many experiences where I used some kind of mysterious forbidden word... For the record. I don't believe there is any such thing but clearly many people do these days... And got accused of being some terrible thing and that was the end of the conversation.

I think a lot of us a lot of us are gun-shy. And I think we have good reason to be.

Expand full comment

That's why I left all social media for good in 2020.

Expand full comment

I'm not even talking about social media. I'm talking about one-on-one actual conversations with friends and colleagues. We (as a culture overall) really do seem to have degenerated to the point where at least a significant vocal minority of people across the spectrum can't tolerate anyone thinking even slightly differently from the way they do.

Expand full comment

Ah yes, I understand now. I think this was not the case 20 years ago, at least not so much. I think social media in particular has helped to push folks over the edge, and echo chambers have reinforced views for so many more folks to where they can just hear whatever they wish to hear about the world.

We have to do what we can to address this, but beyond writing and being very patient, I'm not sure what else could be done.

Expand full comment

It was different 20 years ago. Even a decade ago, I could still have thoughtful, intense debates with friends I disagreed with on Issues of Importance. And it was fun, too. Memorable evenings. I can't recall the last one of those I've had.

As to what to do, I dunno. Have we tried unplugging it and plugging it back in again?

Expand full comment

Less than a hundred years ago, people had to live close to their work. Factory workers were warehoused next to the plants. Office workers lived a short ride from business districts.

Now, everyone has the car (well, really an SUV or a pickup truck that's never carried anything heavier than a bag of rock salt), and it's not uncommon for people to live miles from the cities or industrial parks where they're employed.

Yes, but now the tail wags the dog. Our housing, food supply, and work, is all designed with the assumption that everyone has a private vehicle unless you can afford to live in a city where it's not quite a s necessary but most people still have them.

And as you pointed out, you need a gym membership to make up for it because you're always stuck in traffic and never have time to exercise.

Expand full comment

Especially here in the US! Less so in South America or Europe, at least from what I've seen.

Expand full comment

Especially in the U.S. because we hate transit and treat bicycles like interlopers.

Expand full comment

From a piece I did with Sam Sklar, infrastructure nerd/expert: "I’ve thought a lot about infrastructure over the last few years, especially with regard to the stark realization that the US isn’t necessarily built for optimal human use, as much as it has been built for maximum automobile utility."

Hit the nail on the head.

Expand full comment