Unfair or Ironical?
Sometimes things play out in a way that, depending on your perspective, are either ironical or totally unfair. For example, Western countries are colder places. Unsurprisingly then, as Ed Yong wrote : “In response to the global energy crisis of the 1970s, architects made structures more energy-efficient by sealing them off from outdoor air, reducing ventilation rates.” A totally unintended side-effect of that? “Pollutants and pathogens built up indoors, “ushering in the era of ‘sick buildings’ . ” Which, of course, is the worst setup when you’re trying to deal with a pandemic: “The indoor spaces in which Americans spend 87 percent of their time became staging grounds for super-spreading events.” Here’s another example. Remember those “ghost towns” of China? It refers to entire cities built in China that remain uninhabited. Did the government miscalculate/mis-build? Or does China keep activities going because, hey, economic growth can never stop, even if it leads t...