A dose of optimism, as the pandemic rages on–New York Times, October 12, 2020
Since he began covering the pandemic, the NYT science reporter has been consistently gloomy, but events are now moving faster than he thought possible, and he’s become “cautiously optimistic.” He now believes, like many experts, that the pandemic will be over far sooner than expected—possibly by the middle of next year (in the US). The cavalry is coming: vaccines and monoclonal antibodies that are likely to be far more effective than non-pharmaceutical interventions like wearing masks and physical distancing.
The most innovative wellness projects of 2020–Fast Company, October 2020
See all the honorees of Fast Company’s 2020 Innovation by Design Awards in the Wellness category. From a trauma care center for abused children in Texas that highlights the restorative power of nature to bringing mental health treatments to Pinterest to a digital fitness platform that uses real-time feedback and real weights to transform the way you train at home.
The rise and rise of creativity–AEON, October 12, 2020
The Harvard historian looks at how creativity, once seen as the work of geniuses, has become an engine of economic growth and a corporate imperative—a wonderful work of erudition that can be digested in less than 8 min.
Earth’s new Gilded Era (The coming “heat gap” between rich and poor)–Atlantic, October 15, 2020
Not a cheerful read but prescient! The point in a nutshell: As the world gets hotter, the divide between rich and poor gets bigger. As the author puts it: “In the coming century, when wealth inequality will likely increase and the spaces where humans can live comfortably will shrink, the heat gap between rich and poor might be the world’s most daunting challenge. It will not only reflect existing wealth disparities but will also deepen them.” Read on—plenty of examples vividly make the point.
A Striking Stat:
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted or halted critical mental health services in 93% of countries worldwide—just as demand for mental health services is skyrocketing.
Source: World Health Organization survey of 130 countries, October 5, 2020
