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This article leaves a bitter aftertaste. The people the author chose to represent this issue all seem to come from high-powered high-earning careers. These sam

This article leaves a bitter aftertaste. The people the author chose to represent this issue all seem to come from high-powered high-earning careers. These same people tend to extoll the virtues of individual responsibility, of pulling yourself up by your bootstraps. At the same time they say that their success is completely self-made and earned, that anyone who failed what they succeeded at just wasn't trying hard enough. Depression to them is just an excuse, or faked, or slightly worse sadness. Yet here they are, commanding everyone else to immediately focus on this issue, because it affects them for a change. The current mental illness problem, due to which countless potentially smart and loving people get ground away by their own minds? Who cares? Poverty, lack of financial security, and the resulting lower cognitive performance due to chronic anxiety? What a bunch of wusses! All that stuff isn't really important. All that's important is that these people get their brain fog addressed, right now! These people don't seem to realize that the clear mind and fast wit they've been benefiting from their entire life has been a luxury that very few other people can enjoy. To use the analogy mentioned in the article: just because you once drove a sportscar doesn't mean you are entitled to get a new one before people who had one in the first place.

jfim 4y ago
It's coming from the Atlantic, so it makes sense that they'd pick people that the reader is more likely to identify with (people with higher education and incomes). I didn't get the same vibe as you did from the article. It seemed a bit more about explaining what brain fog is and that it can be caused by COVID-19 as well as other reasons. After reading the article, if I knew someone who had brain fog in my life, I'd be able to better understand what they're going through and be able to be more empathetic to their situation, instead of saying something trite like "maybe you need more sun/vegetables/exercise." All of the things that you mention (poverty, lack of financial security, mental illnesses, etc.) are important, but I doubt it's possible to write an article that addresses all of those things.
ianai 4y ago
Did we read the same article? They were disputing the denialism around this condition which had previously been suggested as depressive episodes or other things they list. They’re talking about brain fog being a symptom in its own right and needing to be addressed directly. The physicist they spoke to was able to illustrate how it affected them with a before/after comparison. This is amongst many other examples. It’s not elitist for a physicist to simply talk about their work and inner processes. It’s also not a particularly high paying position for most graduates. I genuinely think you might be searching for something that’s not there to be upset about.

jfim 4y ago

It's coming from the Atlantic, so it makes sense that they'd pick people that the reader is more likely to identify with (people with higher education and incomes). I didn't get the same vibe as you did from the article. It seemed a bit more about explaining what brain fog is and that it can be caused by COVID-19 as well as other reasons. After reading the article, if I knew someone who had brain fog in my life, I'd be able to better understand what they're going through and be able to be more empathetic to their situation, instead of saying something trite like "maybe you need more sun/vegetables/exercise." All of the things that you mention (poverty, lack of financial security, mental illnesses, etc.) are important, but I doubt it's possible to write an article that addresses all of those things.

ianai 4y ago

Did we read the same article? They were disputing the denialism around this condition which had previously been suggested as depressive episodes or other things they list. They’re talking about brain fog being a symptom in its own right and needing to be addressed directly. The physicist they spoke to was able to illustrate how it affected them with a before/after comparison. This is amongst many other examples. It’s not elitist for a physicist to simply talk about their work and inner processes. It’s also not a particularly high paying position for most graduates. I genuinely think you might be searching for something that’s not there to be upset about.