Asymmetry

Incredibly, the entire metro area of Boston was on lockdown all day. No public transport, no cabs, no one supposed to go to work or go to school, no one supposed to leave their homes. Why? Because of two men.

This asymmetry intrigues/disturbs/bothers me. I'm not passing judgement on the actions taken by officials in Mass, but rather simply remarking on the imbalance of it all. Two men hold close to a million hostage in their homes.

Ever hear of the "80-20 Rule"? Also known as the Pareto Principle, it was first articulated for business concerns, but since has been found to apply in a wide variety of situations. To wit - 80% of the effects are caused by 20% of the agents. IE, 80% of crime is caused by 20% of the population. Or 80% of a company's profits are generated by 20% of their customers. I've long held that 80% of litter is generated by 20% of folks.

And so on. Asymmetry. Imbalance. It creates a condition where a general population can live in fear even though the vast majority of them are law abiding.

As here.

I'm not proposing anything by the way, except for the advice I've found holds true in 99% of situations: While you can rarely change reality, you can change your perception of reality.

We don't have anything to be afraid of, in other words. And yet, so much fear.