The Outside View: The Pandemic’s Lasting Impact

For most citizens of the world, the real-world impact of the coronavirus is in its early stages. Schools are shutting down, sports leagues are suspending their seasons, and grocery shelves are being stripped of basic supplies — but we should expect it to get worse before it gets better. Already, we’re experiencing fear such as we haven’t felt for quite a while. We’ll make it through, but the pandemic’s psychological impact is going to remain in a distinctive way. Give a quick thought back to your last birthday celebration. Do you remember what you had for dinner? I’m willing to bet you don’t. In fact, as far as your recollection goes, that dinner might as well never have taken place. So, what’s the difference? Antonio Damasio coined the neuroscientific term for it: “Somatic Marker.” A Somatic Marker is a psychological process that controls your decision-making, an emotional bookmark so powerful that you’ll never forget it. A shortcut to survival, it bypasses logical considerations when you bump into a tiger in a jungle. A thoughtful evaluation of whether to pet the tiger is not an optimal survival strategy. The Somatic Marker says: Run! Sept. 11, 2001, was just such a Somatic Marker. We remember where

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