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https://theconversation.com/plagues-poisons-and-magical-thinking-how-covid-lab-leak-hysteria-could-be-straight-from-the-middle-ages-204025>
"The COVID “lab leak” story clearly isn’t going away soon. The theory that the
pandemic began with an accidental release of the virus from a lab in Wuhan
recurs like clockwork – most recently in a report from Senate Republicans in
the US this week.
Earlier this year, the US Department of Energy and FBI endorsed the same
theory. It’s a very modern story – but as medievalists, we can tell you we’ve
been here before, and we should be wary of simple narratives of blame.
The lab leak theory remains a legitimate hypothesis to investigate. Yet much of
the discussion surrounding it shows evidence of the “contagion effect” of
magical thinking – the belief that a visible effect is somehow contaminated by
a hidden essence linked to its origin.
The anxieties still whirling in conservative media echo the escalating
accusations of well-poisoning in medieval Europe. These exploded into mass
violence in the mid-14th century, and survive in later legends about witches’
ability to concoct poisonous agents.
In an age of antibiotics and scientific explanations, we like to consider
ourselves more advanced than our forebears. But our research into the early
history of conspiracy theories and xenophobia tells a more complicated story
about how magical thinking continues to shape our response to disasters like
the pandemic."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
