Little Opportunity for Change
Changing Your Mind at This Moment in History
In “How My Mind Changed,” I describe how my MS diagnosis was actually, on balance, a lucky event because it led to me being exposed to new, healthier content. However, there’s some nuance in this situation worth considering. At literally any other time in history, being afflicted with MS could be, at least potentially, disastrous.
Leaving the lack of internet or ubiquitous audio content aside for a moment, I wouldn’t have access to diagnostics, treatment, physical therapy, assistive technology, or the ability to work from home—at least, not like I can today. So, it is true to say that the luck is in the timing.
And, yet, the way technology has advanced is a bit of a double-edged sword. Sure, I can get access to all of this quality content—journalism, books, podcasts, music—but for how long will this be true? In “A Secretive Hedge Fund Is Gutting Newsrooms,” by McKay Coppins and published in The Atlantic, Coppins explains how Alden Global Capital has bought up hundreds of local newspapers around the United States, slashed costs, and left husks of news organizations in its wake—The Baltimore Sun and The Chicago Tribune are notable examples.
I’ll acknowledge that, of course, these situations aren’t dependent on one another (though, in a deterministic universe, how things happen is, in fact, the only way they could happen). My MS is not tied to Alden Global Capital, and the firm buying up newspapers isn’t directly linked to the development of technologies or services like Audm, Audible, or Spotify.
So, how are these two situations connected? When I was listening to Coppins’ piece, it occurred to me that, maybe, in the past, it wasn’t as difficult for someone’s mind to be changed. I’m not longing for the old days, but it’s common to hear about the dearth of local news being tightly correlated with today’s increased partisanship and ideological rigidity.
I was lucky that I could be forced into a suite of technologies that existed. Maybe, if things were different, there would be more opportunities to have your mind changed. It’d still take a strong influence, I think, but probably not something as strong as a chronic illness.
