Saved by Leilani Kritzinger
Biomedical Explanations and the Fear of Fiction
These historical patterns show us it is entirely human to turn to the supernatural, conspiracy, spiritualism and the occult in our effort to make sense of how new technology and media might change us, both individually and collectively. It is one big cope, to regain a sense of control in a time of uncertainty and difficulty.
Nick Susi • magic, online!
He knew that fear was the core of all anxieties: a fear of gaining weight led to anorexia; fear of crowds led to agoraphobia; fear of losing control led to panic attacks. Anxieties were an oversensitivity to perceived fear, be it spiders, the opposite sex, confined spaces, whatever. On a neuronal level, anxieties and phobias were caused by overreac
... See moreJames Nestor • Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art
“Every age has its signature afflictions. Thus, a bacterial age existed; at the latest, it ended with the discovery of antibiotics. Despite widespread fear of an influenza epidemic, we are not living in a viral age. Thanks to immunological technology, we have already left it behind. From a pathological standpoint, the incipient twenty-first century... See more
these new diseases are stubbornly unknowable. They exist without cause, course, or cure. They are nothing more or less than their self-reported symptoms. They are metaphor as illness.