Via Ton’s Interdependent Thoughts.

Have been watching the classic series lately and am convinced that the world needs somebody like Carl Sagan more than ever.  Not to speak for us, but to remind us why we have to find our own voice. In science, in society, in business and in life free inquiry (“the only sacred truth is that there are no sacred truths”) shouldn’t be overlooked or mocked as often as it is.  We enjoy the fruits of science every day, but do not value its methods enough.

As a bonus in this blog post I share with you my favourite Sagan speech: Pale Blue Dot

Found in my most recent trip to London.

After a very interesting presentation by Dr. José Luis Cordeiro of Singularity University, I was left with a few interesting ideas about the coming accelerating technological and social progress.

• Genetic testing is becoming faster and cheaper.  In 3 years full sequencing will only cost 100 bucks and take 5 days, with a huge impact in ancestry and medicine (think about genetically-tailored preventive medicine). Imagine 23andme going mass market.
• We will go back to the moon, especially now that it is found that there’s water.
• World relationships are changing. For thousands of years the important body of water was the Mediterranean, and until recently the Atlantic.  We are now entering the age of the Pacific.
• Robot rights are already under discussion in Korea and Europe.
• Economic, telecommunications and energy source evolution is accelerating.
• The death of death: The Methuselah Foundation.
• Nano, bio, info and cognitive sciences are converging. Everything is information.
• Marvin Minsky (MIT): “Will robots inherit the earth? Yes, but they will be us!”
• Transhumanism as a possibility, not only a science fiction conjecture.

After the huge media coverage surrounding the A H1N1 situation in Mexico in April, it was a relief to see how calm everything on that front was when we were there in June & July.

The only signs I saw during our trip that anything like that had happened were info posters like the one above in some stores and the availability of hand disinfectant in many public places.  The only people wearing handmasks I saw in my whole trip were Asian tourists arriving to Mexico City airport.  Needless to say, neither I nor anybody I know was affected.

Since it’s summer, the situation in Mexico has calmed down, unlike what is happening in the South American winter season.  I find it funny that hasn’t made the news as much.

One of my friends was working at the National Institute for Respiratory Diseases in Mexico City in the middle of the crisis.  Funnily enough, he says he was not busiest  during the outbreak but afterwards, to return the hospital back to normal.

After a week and a half of having declared the emergency, everything is slowly going back to normal in Mexico City now that the government has declared that the worst has passed (at least in Mexico itself, as the virus is still being reported in the U.S.). Tomorrow people will go back to work and in a few days schools will reopen.  There are a couple of diplomatic incidents still ongoing, and I for one am not planning to go to China nor Argentina anytime soon (both suspended flights, and Mexicans without symptoms are .

I really hope that the Mexican tourism industry recovers once this emergency is over, as the economic cost of this emergency runs in the billions.  At least it’s not the main news item in international media anymore at the time of writing.

The WHO has raised its alert status to level 4. There have been over 2,300 cases in Mexico now, 700 still in hospital, 150 deceased.  There are confirmed cases in Spain and Scotland, and closer to home suspected cases in Belgium, Sweden, Norway & Denmark.  To make matters even worse, there was an earthquake in Mexico City today, although there is no reports of damages.

Although Mexicans are now starting to sound worried, some still cope by joking.  Some people commented that the earthquake was basically another way of sneezing, and the influenza song now has a video.  People are still staying home, following the instructions of the government, and the school shutdown has been expanded nationwide.  If you speak Spanish, the Mexican Presidency has live video coverage of the situation here.

Roman Catholic masses were cancelled throughout the city, museums were closed and football matches were played behind close doors (my team, Chivas, tied) to avoid the creation of crowds.  People have been generally very calm from what I understand, stayed home and there is no panic shopping, but the streets are rather empty for a city of over 20 million people (some pictures here).  If you understand Spanish, a great chronicle of the past two days can be found here and here.  The city is not afraid, and people still make fun of the situation from time to time.

Video rentals and video stores were doing brisk business yesterday, and schools are closed until May 6th (May 1st and 5th are holidays anyway).  Military personnel have been handling masks around the city and now everybody is bracing themselves for tomorrow: will people go to work or will they home office (those who can)?

The Finnish media have complained about the slow Mexican response to the outbreak, but they seem to ignore that even the National University (UNAM) doesn’t have the equipment needed to distinguish this new virus from its old, previously known cousins and with the normal flu season just ending, there was no cause for concern.  On the other hand the World Health Organisation has praised the Mexican response.

There are confirmed cases in Mexico, the US, Canada and New Zealand, and suspected cases in France, Spain, UK & Israel (map here).  Deaths have only happened in Mexico, and even there two thirds of the 1200 cases have already been released from hospital.  According to some information in the Mexican media, vaccines don’t work, but antivirals such as Tamiflu do.  Airports haven’t been closed, but there is more stringent screening in Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan from passengers coming over from North America.

There are two different hypothesis of the origin of the virus: one points to it having started in a farm in Texas and then crossed over to the border, the other one points to farms in Perote, Veracruz, Mexico.  None has been confirmed.

If you want to know more in real time, you can follow @Veratect and @zolliker (in Spanish) on Twitter.

Football games cancelled in Mexico City

One very interesting consequence of the current situation with swine flu in Mexico (New Yortk Times, BBC, El Universal, Hesari) has been the reaction of the public.  While of course the healthcare system is taking all possible measures and people are worried, quite a few have tended to cope with the situation through jokes (some of a very dark nature). People have started joking about zombies, politics, Hollywood disaster movies or the fact that it seems to be a mutation of bird, swine and human flu.  There’s even a swine flu song…

A selection of tweets below (mostly in Spanish, sorry):

• juanmanuel: acabo de cruzar y me pregunto el migra si tenia algo que declarar… le dijo nomas #influenza
• SrBichi: Acabo de ver morir el disco duro que me dieron en el PDC. ¿Habrá muerto de #influenza?
• roxyinthetjsky: RT: @fmroad rt @gblas Ya llegó!, Ya está aquí! La cumbia de la #influenza, alias la #mexiflu http://jordi.net/la_cumbia_de_la_influenza.mp3
• aeiffel: Las carreteras están desiertas. La #influenza se ha cobrado su cuota. Los zombies no se acercan de noche, no a los autos. Sobreviví…
• chocolatito: RT @TattooHunter: El mundo es un pañuelo y nosotros sus mocos infectados de #influenza
• chavafly: En Guanajuato andan contentos porque ya no se pueden dar besos #influenza
• Cas: Esto de la #influenza es un gran juego masivo de ‘latrais’, pero aqui pierde mas de uno
• CuteMadeleine: No hay nada mas romantico que mandar una mascara antigases a la persona que quieres con esto de la #influenza (L) XD
• Thinkmario: -Me engriparon como un puerco…!- ja ja ja =) #influenza
• PatoJavier: @ffuentes Esto es demasiado —> @influenzamexico <—- Web 2.0, la primera pandemia con twitter #influenza
• ShukraZestful: #influenza ? Estornudé, disparenme. ” Una vez q estornudan tienes 20 segundos para dispararles”
• Tavo: “La #influenza que ataca a mexicanos es un virus nuevo no sólo para los humanos, sino para el mundo” http://ow.ly/3TiB (si chingones somos)
• cygenta: Solo yo estoy sorprendido porque AMLO no ha comentado algo tonto e izquierdoso acerca de la culpa del “ilegítimo” acerca de #influenza?
• SrBichi: Carstens dijo que era un catarrito lo de la economía. Cordova, el de salud, dice que la #influenza va disminuyendo… Tengo miedo.
• amilcaronline: http://twitpic.com/3xzgv – My grammar is poor. And everybody in Mexico City is going for the mortal kombat look #influenza
• hvelarde: nuevo entretenimiento de la noche chilanga: contar las personas que salen a la calle con cubrebocas #influenza
• wapankh: El cubrebocas es el accesorio must-have de la temporada… La keffiyeh (o palestina para los wannabes) es taaannn 2008. #influenza #zombies
• FalconX: Después de todos los chistes sobre #influenza algo de información no cae mal http://www.onu-influenza.org/Folleto.pdf
• chilangelina: Jajaja, mi mamá está en su casa aburrida y me llama para contarme que se compró una lámpara baratísima. Efectos colaterales de la #influenza
• karyva: RT @laquesefue: @El_Universal critica que nos burlemos de la #influenza. Somos mexicanos y nos reimos de nuestras desgracias – Cierto!!
• cygenta: creo que el asunto de la #influenza si va en serio. Cancelar clases no tiene mucha importancia, cerrar estadios de futbol si.
• _gabo: voy a desafiar a la muerte, en este momento me voy a meter al metro. #influenza
• FCalleja: Quien fue el cochino que se anduvo besuqueando con un cerdo? #influenza
• LordCold: Se esta generando tanto revuelo con la #influenza que no duden que los chinos nos pirateen el tema de la #influenza
• LuisUrruela: RT @jcabrera : La mamá de la gripe le dice a su hijo: Hijito no te juntes con ese virus, es mala #influenza. (jajaxD)
• ilyTonks: RT@leandrotec:M llamo @leandrotec Soy un supervivient d la #influenza vivo n la cd d Cancun. Si hay alguien ahí..alguien. Spa q no sta solo
• vonkinder: oyendo rolas de acuerdo a la moda de la #influenza: The virus of life, Danger-Keep Away, March of the pigs, pigs on the wing
• ceronne: Gripe aviar + gripe porcina = Gripe de huevo con tocino? #influenza #gripeporcina

I was watching CNN when they had a report about an alleged link between childhood vaccination and autism.  Right after it, they had a poll where they asked the audience if they believed there was such a link.  I found the process disturbing for one reason: whatever I believe may or may not be backed by scientific fact, and in issues such as healthcare this becomes very dangerous.

I might believe that the world is a flat dish, but the facts prove me wrong.