Not learning the hard way
Thursday, 26th March – 2pm
The truth of the matter is that we don't learn. And we are less likely to now than ever. It's a phenomenon of our country and it will not change.
The present emergency is a perfect example. I am prepared to bet you any sum of money you care to imagine that we, as a nation, will not learn the lessons of it. Mostly that will be because we do not think we have anything to learn. Contrast this with the South Koreans or the Taiwanese. Both of these countries border China (well, Taiwan is offshore) and the populations of both became badly infected with coronavirus. In Taiwan the student population is back in schools and colleges. In South Korea the situation is loosening up after a tough time. As I write South Korea is reporting 131 deaths and Taiwan 2. Yes, 2. The link to the Johns Hopkins University source quoted throughout the media is here https://www.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6
It makes fascinating if deeply painful reading.
From those latest figures, Korea has 9,241 cases confirmed. The UK has 9,642. And, to repeat, they have 131 deaths from coronavirus, we have 465. It doesn't take a nobel laureate to see that there is a striking disparity here. Yet the pompous declarations that we are doing everything just right and in the most timely manner and following the best science are deafening. We will not learn because we are not prepared to learn. We have got it right. Everyone else has got it...well if not wrong, then something lesser than us.
One reason that Taiwan, for example, has successfully approached this emergency is because they learnt from the last time. SARS and MERS both hit Taiwan hard. Learning from that they changed their ways. As soon as Coronvirus became a clear danger, they got into their castles and drew up the drawbridges. Flights stopped immediately. Movement stopped immediately. Everyone isolated immediately. In South Korea they knew from bitter experience that the first step is the most important. They tracked down the individuals who were infected and traced every last person whom they did or might have encountered. They were completely rigorous and tested widely. Slowly, they brought the spread of the virus under control. Even when a religious nutter (acting, he said, on advice from God) told his infected followers to hide amid other church congregations, they did not give up. They tracked and checked and tracked and tested. They forced their population to reveal stuff. The process has been very tough, but it has unquestionably saved lives. They have tested prodigiously, widely and often. With these methods they have managed to stem coronavirus and bring it under control. It may break out again, of course, but they know what to do.
We won't do any of those things. Not beause we can't. We could. But we won't. Because we are doing it our way. And we are very proud of that. And anyway our way is special. In what way? Because it is ours.
In the UK, today, we are presently sixth in the number of deaths behind Italy, Spain, China, Iran and France. Our figures will climb relentlessly. They cannot be stopped. Because we don't learn.
Of course, I could always be wrong in every way about this. I would be delighted if that was so. We may indeed learn and contrary to all the evidence we may prove to have had the perfect solution to it all. Let's see what the science says.
The truth of the matter is that we don't learn. And we are less likely to now than ever. It's a phenomenon of our country and it will not change.
The present emergency is a perfect example. I am prepared to bet you any sum of money you care to imagine that we, as a nation, will not learn the lessons of it. Mostly that will be because we do not think we have anything to learn. Contrast this with the South Koreans or the Taiwanese. Both of these countries border China (well, Taiwan is offshore) and the populations of both became badly infected with coronavirus. In Taiwan the student population is back in schools and colleges. In South Korea the situation is loosening up after a tough time. As I write South Korea is reporting 131 deaths and Taiwan 2. Yes, 2. The link to the Johns Hopkins University source quoted throughout the media is here https://www.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6
It makes fascinating if deeply painful reading.
From those latest figures, Korea has 9,241 cases confirmed. The UK has 9,642. And, to repeat, they have 131 deaths from coronavirus, we have 465. It doesn't take a nobel laureate to see that there is a striking disparity here. Yet the pompous declarations that we are doing everything just right and in the most timely manner and following the best science are deafening. We will not learn because we are not prepared to learn. We have got it right. Everyone else has got it...well if not wrong, then something lesser than us.
One reason that Taiwan, for example, has successfully approached this emergency is because they learnt from the last time. SARS and MERS both hit Taiwan hard. Learning from that they changed their ways. As soon as Coronvirus became a clear danger, they got into their castles and drew up the drawbridges. Flights stopped immediately. Movement stopped immediately. Everyone isolated immediately. In South Korea they knew from bitter experience that the first step is the most important. They tracked down the individuals who were infected and traced every last person whom they did or might have encountered. They were completely rigorous and tested widely. Slowly, they brought the spread of the virus under control. Even when a religious nutter (acting, he said, on advice from God) told his infected followers to hide amid other church congregations, they did not give up. They tracked and checked and tracked and tested. They forced their population to reveal stuff. The process has been very tough, but it has unquestionably saved lives. They have tested prodigiously, widely and often. With these methods they have managed to stem coronavirus and bring it under control. It may break out again, of course, but they know what to do.
We won't do any of those things. Not beause we can't. We could. But we won't. Because we are doing it our way. And we are very proud of that. And anyway our way is special. In what way? Because it is ours.
In the UK, today, we are presently sixth in the number of deaths behind Italy, Spain, China, Iran and France. Our figures will climb relentlessly. They cannot be stopped. Because we don't learn.
Of course, I could always be wrong in every way about this. I would be delighted if that was so. We may indeed learn and contrary to all the evidence we may prove to have had the perfect solution to it all. Let's see what the science says.
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