This is a podcast piece. I’m not always great at writing about the podcasts I listen to because usually I listen to them early in the morning on my bread runs and while I’m enjoying them and taking in the information, it’s also early and I’m tired. I forget details. I’m also usually a little lazy to re-listen. If I was really serious about making this blog some kind of success in top quality output I would take the time but as is my usual complaint recently, I’m rather tired. I did listen to the first five minutes of it again though, and it’s only half an hour but I just can’t be bothered tonight. Maybe tomorrow as it is worth listening with a clear head. Anyway enough of that uninspiring intro.
The podcast is from The Economist and it discusses viruses. Not in a fearful way discussing how bad and scary they are, although the dangers are brought up of course, but almost in awe of how powerful and important they are. They start out by telling you there are more viruses out there than there are grains of sand on Copacabana Beach in Brazil. I remember that detail because I’ve just heard it. Everything else though is fuzzy morning memory. They discuss viruses not as destroyers but as implementers of evolution. We are who we are now because of the viruses we have experienced in our evolution. When we bred with Neanderthals we gained some bad genetics, or something like that, but also we gained the antibodies they had apparently which saved us. Maybe saved is a bit strong, but they said something along those lines. Apparently there is an idea that our RNA – I don’t really know what that is – changed into DNA because of exposure to viruses. That’s the molecular structure of life. No small thing. Viruses are life forms and they were there at the beginning. I will listen to it again tomorrow because I finished the episode being quite in awe of the power of viruses and I want to remember why. Certainly contemporary discussion, especially at the moment, paint them in only a bad light but evidently that is not entirely fair.
All of this makes me think then about this current virus. An obvious link to make. It goes without saying that we are going to try to protect ourselves from such things but what does that mean for us as a species. Are we at this point in our evolution because some of our ancestors managed to survive certain virus and somehow our species were stronger and healthier as a result. I know the obvious link to Darwin, survival of the fittest and also the political rhetoric of such talk, but somehow when discussing virus it seems different. On the other hand look at this Covid virus, it seems to be taking down seemingly healthy people and there are some inexplicable examples of those who got ill and those who despite obvious dangers such as age or pre-existing illness survived without complications. Maybe this virus is rooting out some kind of deficiency which we’re unaware of. Pragmatically, is that a good thing for us as a species? Maybe it is until you think of your loved ones and human pragmatism is quickly forgotten about. On the other hand, what about all the great minds who could have furthered us as a species – found a solution to climate change for example – but are killed by a virus. The potential known and unknown of evolutionary development. It’s hard to argue against the mind that prevents climate change who also needs a vaccine or simple medicine to make it happen though. I’m moving into an idea I’ve long pondered without much coherence and which would probably be worth a piece on it’s own. I’ll leave it there for now. There’s already enough incoherence here already.
The point was though that this is a link to an incredibly interesting and informative podcast on an entirely relevant and contemporary issue. It looks at viruses without the fear. We can all use a little more of that in a little more of everything I suspect.
Observations and Misunderstandings 