About a decade ago there was a very different kind of pandemic—a “plague” that inadvertently spread through the video game World of Warcraft. Now, to a novice or someone who isn’t a resident of that world, it may seem impossible. But in fact a programming error made a condition designed for only high level players “infect” all of them. Players were dying all over.
Sidebar here: To perhaps 3 million players, this world is very real. Hours of virtual play affect players psychologically and they imbue their avatars with their own psychology.
So the Centers for Disease Control and others decided that this virtual world was an ideal laboratory to study a real world pandemic. Some players risked their own safety to help others, but others simply ignored the situation...or ran headlong into quarantine areas, just out of morbid curiosity. Of course, sane players always realized that there was a reset button. The researchers also recorded what they called the “stupid factor”—people who just visited an infected area and spread the plague out of pure ignorance. There were many great lessons in a world crippled by “Corrupted Blood.” Researchers found great potential in this sort of analysis.
Fast forward to today. I am absolutely astounded at the reactions of people on social media to Corona Virus and its threats. Yes, most are adopting extreme caution. But many are acting like this is some video game. On Facebook an article from WaPo prompted many really crazy responses. “I’m going to Disney regardless” and “Nothing will stop me from the Paris Marathon.” Like WoW, this virtual world tells us a lot about people.
To go to a place where there is a high incidence and then come home to an uninfected community is not some sort of bravery, it is a sociopathy at this point. Disney World? Paris? Are you kidding me?
It’s been 3 decades since Reagan began eliminating logic and science from school curricula in the interest of “Back to Basics.” He won. Just read the reactions of people on social media sites. They range from sheer panic to crazy ignorance.
Right now we can only slow this thing that Trump unleashed. We need to do it in the real world, not some alternate reality. Our own preferences must take a back seat; we owe it to our neighbors. This is not a game.