Theories are ivory towers. Models are only good when assumptions are valid. Social distancing and community quarantines are effective measures to prevent the spread of the virus in theory, but in reality that isn’t all that that matters. Real people are more than just a breeding ground for viruses unlike the theoretical biological entities that is assumed in biology books. Unlike simulations on epidemics, real people are not dots that does brownian motions on a 2-dimensional plane. Real people have concepts of economics and psychology which should also be taken into consideration when making political decisions. Real people have feelings. Distancing ourselves from other people is even against our survival mechanism since it’s through being close to each other in groups that we survived primitive times.
These are complicated times. The problems that we are facing now can’t be solved just by a single approach. Just because we are facing a pandemic, doesn’t mean that other equally important problems we have in our society such as poverty and corruption are irrelevant. As a matter of fact, the pandemic magnifies these problems and makes it stare at us right in the eyes if only we dare open them.
While it’s important that we follow health protocols that will prevent the spread of the disease, it’s also equally important to keep an open eye against people who will try to take advantage of the situation for their own benefit. It’s also important to take into consideration the plights of the less advantaged for they are human too.
To quote my professor in linear models; “Always think multivariate”.