100 years of Hollywood and TV have systematically destroyed many people's ability to apply Occam's Razor. Instead of seeking the most parsimonious explanation for things, people seek the most exciting, to get that dopamine rush they get from watching a good Thriller🧵 Before mass entertainment, people were not regularly transported to fantasy worlds, vastly more interesting than their lives. The desire (and means) to "join" the more interesting fantasy worlds is, I believe, a big contributor to the mass adoption of conspiracy theories 2/

I think the #coronavirus #COVID19outbreak is going to be particularly bad in the US. Below are some reasons why, based on my experience living in New York, which is now one of the top global epicenters of this crisis. My analysis is sociological, not medical 1/14 Lack of testing is a real danger. A family we know came back from a vacation in France a week ago and all started having immediate symptoms. They asked for a test and did not get one despite fitting many criteria. This alone is not catastrophic so read on. 2/14