The "experience" and literacy ideas can draw a straight line to Hardcore History podcaster Dan Carlin's ideas on "intellectual contagion." In particular, how the working classes that comprised all armies in WWI began to throw off the idea that the aims of their monarchs or empires superseded their own well-being ... and how that affected the latter stages of the war.
Going further, 9/11 immediately ushered in an era of TSA, reinforced cockpit doors and air marshals that, one can argue, were already superfluous. Before the day's attacks were over, the passengers of Flight 93 proved that armed with the right info, the group will not tolerate the evil intent of the small force. Armored cockpit doors be damned, no one will ever take over a commercial airliner again with anything less than numbers great enough to overwhelm the rest of the passengers.
One more step to the present pandemic: While news and social media like to focus on the extremes, polling and a common sense (if anecdotal) look around reveals the vast middle are behaving cautiously, concerned for both the health of people and the economy, and mindful of recommendations from authoritative medical/governmental institutions.
While I enjoyed this read and was stimulated by it, I am not sure it reveals much of a pattern worth applying in any way to the present day. Human nature has not changed, and there is cause for wariness in that. At the same time, our ability to communicate, process and apply ideas has never been greater. Which is why, by almost every objective measure of human wellness, there has never been a better time to live on this planet.
The "experience" and literacy ideas can draw a straight line to Hardcore History podcaster Dan Carlin's ideas on "intellectual contagion." In particular, how the working classes that comprised all armies in WWI began to throw off the idea that the aims of their monarchs or empires superseded their own well-being ... and how that affected the latter stages of the war.
Going further, 9/11 immediately ushered in an era of TSA, reinforced cockpit doors and air marshals that, one can argue, were already superfluous. Before the day's attacks were over, the passengers of Flight 93 proved that armed with the right info, the group will not tolerate the evil intent of the small force. Armored cockpit doors be damned, no one will ever take over a commercial airliner again with anything less than numbers great enough to overwhelm the rest of the passengers.
One more step to the present pandemic: While news and social media like to focus on the extremes, polling and a common sense (if anecdotal) look around reveals the vast middle are behaving cautiously, concerned for both the health of people and the economy, and mindful of recommendations from authoritative medical/governmental institutions.
While I enjoyed this read and was stimulated by it, I am not sure it reveals much of a pattern worth applying in any way to the present day. Human nature has not changed, and there is cause for wariness in that. At the same time, our ability to communicate, process and apply ideas has never been greater. Which is why, by almost every objective measure of human wellness, there has never been a better time to live on this planet.