Unanticipated Consequences
Accidents down, so insurance companies refunding some premiums. Billboard advertising down because nobody out to look at them. Crime down.
Beyond Fat and Lean
Food getting tossed at farms while people face shortages. Toilet paper panic is partly legit because office/commercial toilet paper supply chain is different.
The Great Indoors
Not everything about it is great. Domestic violence becomes easier. LA police emphasizing shelter availability for victims.
Flattening the Curve
It actually seems to be working, but leaving this one red. We’re not yet into the dance part of hammer and dance.
Treatment
Ventilators may be something of a red herring, since pneumonia seems to be a secondary effect, with primary deoxygenation coming from virus attacking hemoglobin.
Politics
BoJo in ICU, Trump trying to turn hydrochloroquine into a political option. My twitter thread on this. But nothing truly bad yet, outside Hungary perhaps. Elections in Wisconsin.
Financial Sector
The market seems to have kinda lost its head, chasing its own tail. I think the pace of events is too high for financial markets to respond in meaningful ways.
Globalization
The PPE contest looks more like deviant globalization pirate-versus-pirate condition among nation states. Drugs too, with India under pressure to lift export ban on pharmaceuticals.
Normal Accidents
So far, no really big ones. Biggest one I’ve noted is the big fire burning cars at a Florida airport, from a wildfire. Presumably because a lot more cars were parked, and the airport was understaffed?
Virtual Culture
Now we have zoom bombing, trolls targeting video conferences of specific groups, etc. Not a super serious issue, just tech needing to catch up. Still.
Cringe Cultural Product
Tiger King is a peculiar sort of pandemic-friendly show. In India, the candelight vigil thing probably counts as cringe cultural product.
Social Justice
Poor and minority communities getting disproportionately affected. This might be a far bigger factor once the thing hits the developing world hard.
Religion
Hasidic Jews, Pentecostals, Tablighi Jamaat in India, weird cult in Korea. Traditional religious communities seem to have a uniformly worsening effect on the response.
About Venkatesh Rao
