7 things I learned from COVID:
1. Keeping a cool head and quietly sticking to your guns is as (or more) powerful than actively fighting for what’s right.
2. Cruelty, schadenfreude, and the desire to punish and feel superior are key parts of human nature. If given a free pass, many people will happily dehumanise and attack an out group (this applies to both pro- and anti-vaxxers, btw).
3. Money insulates us from crises. Lockdown was easier if you had a big house, aircon and a home gym. Private jets had less restrictions than public airlines. High-paid jobs had better security and an easy transition to WFH compared to low-paid “essential” jobs.
4. Conspiracy theories are overrated. COVID was more than likely a spontaneous event that was then used as an rationalisation for printing money, shutting down businesses, implementing digital ID, and similar measures.
Related:
https://lukesmith.xyz/articles/conspiratorial-thinking-and-multiple-outs/
5. Being a NZ citizen isn’t as special as I thought. It didn’t stop my government locking me out for 2 years. I made several requests to return, since my grandfather was dying of cancer, and I had run out of emergency visa extensions. Denied each time. Meanwhile, exceptions were made for various bands and sports teams.
6. There is no scenario where critical thinking must be abandoned for “the greater good”. As a rule, it’s worth being extra skeptical when someone insists that a situation is too urgent and you need to act without thinking.
7. Placebo and nocebo are powerful. In the early days of COVID when I was very worried, I felt sick many times (even with COVID-specific symptoms like no smell) while testing negative. Later on, I tested positive several times with no symptoms. Then, after I got the vaccine, I started getting heart palpitations and chest pain — despite nothing showing in my cardiologist’s exams.
I regret a lot about how I reacted to COVID, but the silver lining is that I’m now a more critical thinker with a clearer moral compass.
Check it out here:
