Myths, Folklore And Fables: The Intellectual Bankruptcy Amid Pandemic

‘Even if the open windows of science at first make us shiver after the cosy indoor warmth of traditional humanising myths, in the end, the fresh air brings vigour and the great spaces have a splendour of their own’ - Bertrand Russell (1872-1970).

- Aloka Liyanage

NOVEL DISEASE AND PANDEMIC

In December last year, a group of doctors in Wuhan City Hospital of Hubei unravelled a series of rather unusual cases with severe respiratory symptoms caused by flue like viral infection for the very first time. Within weeks the number of cases soared to an unprecedented scale that the authorities of Hubei had no choice but to lock-down the city with more than 10 million people in an attempt to contain the virus. By March 11, 2020, the WHO declared the viral-outbreak a pandemic, being a global public health concern due to its exponential spread across the continents.

The entire world now has been struck by fear and uncertainty to a scale that has never seen in the entire human history. Interestingly, it is not the very first time that humanity witnessed such catastrophe. From the Antonine plague (165 AD) to the recent Swine flu in 2009, humankind has perseveringly been beaten by epidemics, pandemics and great famines yet, bounced back to thrive and propagate on earth over and over proving their remarkable ability to endure.

To everyone’s surprise, scientists and physicians who are dearest to all kinds of ailments, infections and infirmities seem to have been shaken more than the general public wittingly or unwittingly of the imminent doomsday. Theories on bizarre solutions and treatments are emerging to the most unknown disease ever; COVID -19. It would be prudent to take a risk in dismantling someone’s native intellectual cocoon (within which we found our comfort) to catch a glimpse of these pseudo-scientific theories muddling our society amid the viral outbreak.