2020 - This Changes Everything

Back, earlier this year, I said that society would react to the COVID19 pandemic in a way that would make it a historical event on the scale of the Industrial Revolution or the Great Depression. I am afraid I was right. Just last night, I read an article stating that some of the leading tech giants were giving up their real estate in Silicon Valley and moving elsewhere. That they were going to extend the working-from-home model, even beyond the pandemic. The end of the 20th Century was riff with high-fives, fist-bumps, hugs, and back-pats. Is that forever gone? What social-distancing equivalents will emerge? Educators in 2020 have innovated, frustrated, and commiserated through a revolution in instructional design. Where will that take us in years to come? As the promise of a vaccine waves from the near future, I cannot help but believe that society has learned lessons about immunology and virology that will have on-going impact. Cultures where masks have been part of the norm for decades can applaud themselves as the rest of the world adopts their use. With many saying COVID19 is but the first of its kind to be followed by others, I'm hoping safety will win out over comfort and appearance. As 2020 winds down, I am even more sure of my earlier predictions. Business will be different. Education will be different. Commerce will be different. Life will be different.