FUTILITY OF MASS HYSTERIA

THERE are no shortages. This is a phrase to fire panic into consumers.

At the first shout shelves are stripped of everything.

Toilet rolls are bought by the trolley load to deal with a respiratory condition. Nobody seemed to think they had got the wrong end.

There are no fuel shortages. Well there are now. Today I saw a great queue of vehicles, engines running, blocking the road, waiting to tank up outside one supermarket. Another supermarket had its forecourt closed.

There is nothing like Corporal Jones telling us “Don’t panic, don’t panic” to turn on the nation’s hysteria.

It is at times like this that I think the human animal is incapable of behaving rationally. In my darker moments I find the one thing the human can be relied on is to bring distress to other humans and destruction to its surroundings.

Perhaps we should see homo-sapiens simply as a small step in the evolutionary chain from star dust to inanimate intelligence.

Ultimately biological life will be extinguished largely through our own actions. Intelligence, as in the ability to observe, process and decide is being invested in silicon devices.

Already they exceed human capability in many areas. They can operate autonomously in extreme physical conditions. They certainly don’t need a benign planet. Perhaps their greatest asset is that they don’t need petrol or toilet rolls. I wonder if they will ever get round to panicking?

Tony Taylor