Monday, January 10, 2022

Information and Outcomes

One of the most interesting things in an episode of say "Leverage" is when after all their research and planning, they start the work and then one of the people they are working with zigs instead of zags. Because we all have that moment where we explain something to someone and they react inna way we didn't predict. 
There's a website with a recommendation algorithm that worked great for me when I first joined, and I noticed eventually it had too much data about me, that it would start recommending based on the last three things I had bought, no longer able to crunch all the data I had given it.
I feel like in some ways we all feel this way about the pandemic. Sure, a new virus means some of our information has been refined, and of course variants and new wrinkles, new zags. 
But also I think it's hard not to shut down and stop accepting new data. It's hard to spend this much time calculating risk, figuring out what things are in your control, and where you have to rely on the good sense of those around you. 
Snow and other weather events are reminders that we are all connected. The choices my neighbors make about shovelling and salting affect me too.
It's been a long stretch of thinking about our own safety and it's tempting to want to knock down the to do list by thinking less about others. But it is only collectively that we will see progress.