Ponder: How Contagion Works

How Contagion Works ©2020 is short book  – more precisely, a long essay – about social aspects of Covid-19. I read the Bloomsbury Publishing, Kindle Edition but Amazon estimates a physical book length would be approximately 48 pages. The author is Paolo Giordano, an Italian scientist who holds a master’s degree and a PhD in theoretical physics and lives in Rome, Italy, a hot spot of the current 2019/2020 pandemic.

In his very first chapter titled Grounded the author paints a vivid picture to enable the reader to grasp the reality of the extent of the pandemic. I chose a Google image of the mid-March snapshot of the John Hopkins Map to correlate to his description. 

Even now, the Johns Hopkins University interactive map is open in front of me. The areas of infection are identified by red circles in stark contrast against the gray background. Perhaps another choice of colors might have been better, less alarming, but we all know how this works: viruses are red, emergencies are red. China and Southeast Asia have disappeared beneath a giant red stain, but the entire world is pockmarked, and the rash is bound to get worse.

Although this essay is written by a scientist with strong credentials, the text does not get hung up on specific numbers – wisely so, since these tallies are in constant flux and are subject to a great amount of uncertainty do to vagueness in counting and reporting practices. Yes, there is discussion about exponential versus linear rise and flattening the curve but in generic terms. Rather, the writing focuses on social isolation and its impact on the human population as thinking, feeling individuals. In a chapter titled Contagion by numbers the author segregates the human population into three groups and intimates how each view the social distancing practice.

The entire human species, in the eyes of the virus, falls into one of three categories: the Susceptible, those it can still infect; the Infected, those it already has; the Recovered, those it can no longer infect.

I found this book very thought provoking from an ethics and practical standpoint. The chapter Against fatalism is strong hitting, stating that "the epidemic encourages us to think of ourselves as belonging to a collective". That phrase made me think of Seven of Nine from Star Trek lore.

In times of contagion, therefore, what we do or don’t do is no longer just about us. This is the one thing I wish for us never to forget, even after this is over. 

Giordano addresses the topic of sharing technical information with the public in times of panic. From his chapter the god Pan

In times of contagion, transparent information isn’t a right: it’s a crucial preventative measure. The more a Susceptible individual is informed – about numbers, places, patient concentrations in hospitals – the more their behavior will adjust to the context. ... if the truth is being hidden from us, then everything must be way more serious than what they want us to believe.

This book is short and pithy. Lest I reveal too much in my own wording, which is less eloquent than that of the author, I reverted to a limit number of quotes. I also present the Table of Contents to whet your appetite for the topics.

 

Initially overwhelmed – and frankly disgusted – with the political manipulations of this topic, I thought I would turn to reading as a diversion from the bombardment on the media, intending to pick some engaging work of fiction. Instead, a New York Times article about this book intrigued me enough that I chose to download and read How Contagion Works. I will admit its short length and inexpensive price were also deciding factors. I rated this book 4 stars which translates in my system to "Really good; maybe only one weak aspect or limited audience". I zipped through it in one sitting but actually think I will read it again.