There's a traditional Jewish blessing said after using the bathroom, expressing awe at the complexity of the human body and thanks that we can rely on this system. Atheists and agnostics can search-and-replace God with Nature.
"Blessed are You, Hashem, our G-d, King of the universe, Who formed man with wisdom and created within him many openings and many hollows (cavities). It is obvious and known before Your Throne of Glory that if but one of them were to be ruptured or if one of them were to be blocked it would be impossible to survive and to stand before You (even for a short period of time). Blessed are You, Hashem, Who heals all flesh and acts wonderously."
The Katrina disaster shows how much we have become utterly dependent on manmade systems of wondrous complexity:
* water
* sewer
* electricity
* telecommunications
* natural gas
* gasoline
When these sytems are disrupted as with Katrina our civilization dissolves. This is incentive to give thanks every day for systems that we take for granted and for their maintainers. Every day there is light and water and indoor plumbing and net access is a day to be thankful.
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And to do what we can to prepare for disruptions. What caused the nearly complete failure of the on-the-ground communications in New Orleans, among police, emergency workers, and flooded areas? Was it a lack of extra batteries and generators? The military has communications systems for wartime. What was NO missing?
Posted by alevin at September 4, 2005 12:00 PM | TrackBackI think the problem was centralized communication. Centralized communication works until the cost of coordination that falls upon the centralized entity run too high. The result is then bottlenecks and a system that breaks down, which is the tragedy we saw in New Orleans.
I think the world as a whole needs to think of better ways of dealing with crises -- ways that are not dependent upon a central authority, but rather possess the infrastructure needed to allow disaster victims to get in *direct* touch with potential sources of help. Such a solution, if it is possible, is probably dependent upon technology, market forces, and philanthropy more so than it is on government regulation.
Posted by: Simit Patel on September 4, 2005 01:47 PM