Idea — How About This

PANDEMIC TO PANDEMIC: What the Spanish flu can Teach Us About Covid-19

Before Covid-19 arrived, you may have heard of the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918-1920, but probably would not have paid it much mind. In the West, the focus of history books about this period is generally on the First World War. World War I killed an estimated 17 million people and that is by anyone’s count a horrendous waste of life. In comparison however, the Spanish flu pandemic killed anywhere between 50 to 100 million people worldwide. 50 to 100 million. That’s likely more than World War I and World War II put together. It was the greatest tidal wave of death since the Black Death, possibly even the greatest in human history. It affected every corner of the globe. In every continent apart from Europe more people died of the flu than from war. However, somehow the importance of this global catastrophe has until recently been only a footnote, at least in Western history textbooks. Why is this?

Ideas, PandemicValerie Saint-PierreFebruary 10, 2021 Comment

NEW YEAR, SAME PROBLEMS

As 2020 ended, I welcomed the new year as the beginning of the return to something approaching normality. It was a completely irrational belief but I know I was not alone in this. So why did I and so many others look to 2021 as a new dawn? And how can we survive the disappointment of this new year and stay positive over the Winter months until we can finally start to resume our normal lives?

Lockdown, IdeasValerie Saint-PierreJanuary 11, 2021 Comments

THE SUMMER THAT WASN'T

After 6 months of weirdness we have finally arrived at the end of the Summer That Wasn’t. We are being told to wear masks everywhere, track wherever we go and avoid physical contact with others, and there’s no sign of a new normal, let alone a light at the end of the Covid tunnel.

Lockdown, IdeasValerie Saint-PierreSeptember 27, 2020past, other Comment

LIVING IN LOCKDOWN LIMBO

The first three months of lockdown have been an emotional rollercoaster. Initially lockdown was exciting, before morphing into something scarier, as people people started dying and we really saw the impact of Covid-19 on our society. Now, three months late, we are right in the middle of what I would argue is the most difficult part of this pandemic, where we know that our lives are being changed forever, but we still can’t see what the end result will look like.

Lockdown, IdeasValerie Saint-PierreJune 22, 2020past, other Comments

A TALE OF TEN CAKES*, or What I have Learnt from Lockdown So Far

There seem to be a lot of birthdays in April and May, and lockdown means that we are no longer able to celebrate them as we would like. Therefore I’ve taken it upon myself to bake cakes for all those people stuck inside, and use my daily exercise allowance to courier them by bicycle to doorsteps around London. During my baking missions I have learned a few things about what is truly important to me, some of which may be useful as lockdown finally starts to ease.

Lockdown, IdeasValerie Saint-PierreJanuary 8, 2020other, past Comments

THOUGHTS FROM THE ALPS: What Are Your Skills?

In late July, How About This took a group of adventurous souls to the French Alps. One recurring discussion throughout the holiday centred on what skills our group possessed, and this theme engendered some interesting thoughts around the topic of skills, and what these might mean.

Thoughts from the Alps, IdeasValerie Saint-PierreSeptember 2, 2018other, pastComment

RESTLESS GENERATION 02: Anxiety and the Search for Purpose

The Restless Generation is having to acknowledge some big questions that are becoming increasingly relevant in our technologically advancing society. Some of the most fundamental include redefining our purpose, both as a species and as individuals. Our purpose – survival of our species – has driven us to the top of the evolutionary food chain and has, until recently, been a fundamental tenet of our existence. Now however, with medical innovations, increased longevity and global population growth, this purpose has to a large extent been fulfilled. So, it is not surprising that the Restless Generation are experiencing a sense of uncertainty and anxiety unlike any we have faced before.

Restless Generation, IdeasValerie Saint-PierreMarch 5, 2018other, pastComment

RESTLESS GENERATION 01: An Introduction through Science-Fiction

The RESTLESS GENERATION; the percentage of our society whose fundamental needs have been met and who are now searching for purpose. Those who are consciously starting to recognise that we have created so many possibilities and so many opportunities for ourselves that it seems almost impossible to make meaningful choices. And that in the process of creating these possibilities (through better standards of living, technological advancements or social change) we are in the danger of making ourselves redundant.

Restless Generation, IdeasValerie Saint-PierreDecember 9, 2017other, pastComment