Odd times. But are they really?
“This is the strangest time in our nation’s history.”
“The music my kids listen to is just noise”
“It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.”
While it might seem like these statements were written to describe life in 2020, they are actually quotes from any person who’s ever read the news, , every parent ever, and Dickens describing life before the French Revolution, respectively. There is even a name for the feeling that drives these statements: Chonocentrism. In short, this is a belief that the time we are living in or some specific era is exceptional, is the best or worst ever. This emotion is so powerful, it actually releases chemicals in your brain like dopamine and oxytocin, rewarding the feeling of joy or commiseration.
The chemical reaction caused by chronocentrism fascinates me. Think how often you hear someone say that “the 80’s had the best music” or “we are living in unprecedented times.” Sure, people might actually believe it, but saying it and believing it actually makes them feel good.
This hit home with me this week. I just finished readingThe Boys In The Boat about the 1936 US 8-oar crew team that hailed from University of Washington (spoiler alert in the pic below)..
The book was recommended to me since I’m a recent transplant to Seattle, and it would teach me about my new hometown as it grew into a big city. I learned way more about crew and rowing than I anticipated, but also the confluence of events in the 1930s - the Depression, the Dust Bowl, and the rise of Nazi Germany - that defined a decade of turmoil and led to a World War. And as I read the book, it struck me that these events have clear parallels to the economic, climatic, and totalitarian threats we face today..
What is and isn’t odd.
So is the era we are living through odd? Or is this just par for the course, part of a natural cycle of ups and downs over the centuries? I’m going to leave politics aside to give us all a bit of a respite and look at other trends that are testing our sense of normalcy. Let’s score these trends on how odd they really are from a chronocentric perspective:
Access to information. Very odd. Information access used to be the province of the rich and powerful. A hundred years ago, less than 1/3rd of the world was literate; today that number is approaching 90% globally. We have never had a time like the present where information - real or fake - has been so easy to access and disseminate. It is changing the way we become aware of things, remember things, and learn new things. Time will tell if this is a good thing, but personally I’m a big fan of having so much information be a click away.
Working from home. Not odd. Prior to the industrial age, everyone worked at or near home. “Rush hour” wasn’t a thing. Spending the day in and around family while working is how most of the world lived until the 1930s. So what’s old is new again. And many people tell me that they enjoy traveling less and getting to connect more with family and friends.
Permanence of climate change. Odd. The Dust Bowl of the 1930s was caused by bad farming practices, and when Krakatoa erupted in 1883 the earth reminded us what lies beneath the surface. Both had years-long impacts on the global climate, but dissipated. The odd thing about the effects of climate change today is that they appear long-lasting and permanent. And, of course, politicized.
Cars as entertainment, not utility. Not odd. Soon the cars that take up space in our garages will serve primarily as an outlet for leisure freedom, and secondarily as a way to get to work or run errands. For example, we’re beyond the days of the milkman, but having food delivered to us is not really that odd. It’s just that today we can place more complex orders and do it on a phone instead of calling. Even going to the doctor or getting an eye exam can now be done virtually. Think of how you view horse-drawn carriages from our 21st century view.
Pandemic pandemonium. Not odd. Pandemics are disconcerting for the healthy, a concern for those at risk, and an economic catastrophe while they last. But not only has the world shut down before (as we learn more about the 1918 pandemic and those in the middle of last century), but countries in Asia and Africa are routinely faced with pandemics from Ebola to SARS to HIV and they are faring better during COVID-19 as a result.
“Bad music.” Not odd. Every generation has birthed amazing composers, vocalists, and lyricists that have created music that defines a generation and a culture (Test your knowledge of your favorite and not so favorite decades here). And the generation that preceded them so often equates that music to nails scraping on a chalkboard. Even the great composers were subject to the whims of fashion. Driven by models that suggest how to optimize your songs for the streaming age (keep them short and have the chorus hit the listener’s ears first) today’s music is often more lyrical than musical, and more promotional than aura. I personally hope this changes.
Leisure travel for everyone. Odd (at least, it was when we could do it). Until recently, the only people that traveled long distances for personal reasons were rich, adventurous, military or crazy. Now 42% of Americans have passports, up from 3% in 1989. Filling up a public photo feed with pictures of travels from around the world is a sign of leisure that’s no longer reserved for the few.
Accepting Odd.
This year (and hopefully it's just this one) of living in seemingly odd times will end, but not with the off-stated “return to normal.” The reality is that odd is pretty normal. Just like other “odd” eras, perspective will help us make sense of our current times and move forward. After all, we’ve all gotten used to carrying tiny bags of liquids on planes, having anything we want delivered to us within days, and accessing all the world’s information from tiny devices. In the meantime we’ll enjoy the occasional dopamine rush of moaning how “2020 is the worst year ever.”
How to find your own normal in these odd-but-not-odd times?
Revel in the unknown. One thing to appreciate about 2020 is that the rules are being broken. In business, incremental ideas are giving way to rapid change, for good or otherwise. In my world, for example, the fact that cycling is having a heyday as people rediscover the sport for commuting and exercise is exciting, and a positive example of how people are rethinking the norms of daily life.
Enjoy reconnecting. Having always lived in another city than many of my close friends and colleagues, the current era has been great for reconnecting with people I miss. And I love being able to participate in conferences virtually that would have otherwise been too expensive or time-consuming to attend. The ability to “see” people on video whom I may have otherwise just exchanged emails with has been an upside to our current environment.
Look forward to the long term. Studies state it takes 66 days to form a habit. While the study promoted by Malcolm Gladwell that said you need 10,000 reps or hours of practice has been debunked, if you want to be good at something in 2022 or 2023, now is a good time to start. It will bring focus to your time, especially as winter and Lockdown Part 2 settle in.
Is today’s environment odd to you, or do you see this as part of the cycle of experiences in life? What do you view as truly odd, and what do you think is really just a matter of constant change in our world? Carry on the convo on twitter with me @minicooper.
The massive uptick in Americans with passports surprises me. I wish I didn’t have reason to feel surprised. Mark Twain, ‘Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and small mindedness...’