Rich: Barry does not think it was herd immunity. Influenza viruses mutate rapidly. What statisticians call “reversion to the mean” tends to occur after the most virulent outbreaks, i.e., the virus becomes again less lethal. According to Barry, what happened was that the virus mutated back towards the behavior of most influenza viruses. The later the disease attacked, the less vicious the blow: “in general in youth the virus was violent and lethal; in maturity it mellowed.” But this doesn’t really account for the extreme rapidity of the reversion to the mean.
Regarding stupidity, Barry begins Chapter 9 with this fine paragraph: "IN THE SPRING OF 1918 death was no stranger to the world. Indeed, by then the bodies of more than five million soldiers had already been fed into what was called 'the sausage factory' by generals whose stupidity was matched only by their brutality.
Regarding India and our larger family: One of the victims of the pandemic was Mrinalini Devi, Sri Aurobindo's wife. She died on 17 December 1918.
Rich: Barry does not think it was herd immunity. Influenza viruses mutate rapidly. What statisticians call “reversion to the mean” tends to occur after the most virulent outbreaks, i.e., the virus becomes again less lethal. According to Barry, what happened was that the virus mutated back towards the behavior of most influenza viruses. The later the disease attacked, the less vicious the blow: “in general in youth the virus was violent and lethal; in maturity it mellowed.” But this doesn’t really account for the extreme rapidity of the reversion to the mean.
Regarding stupidity, Barry begins Chapter 9 with this fine paragraph: "IN THE SPRING OF 1918 death was no stranger to the world. Indeed, by then the bodies of more than five million soldiers had already been fed into what was called 'the sausage factory' by generals whose stupidity was matched only by their brutality.
Regarding India and our larger family: One of the victims of the pandemic was Mrinalini Devi, Sri Aurobindo's wife. She died on 17 December 1918.