Confusion is one of the most important aspects of Dystopia. It’s this state of the world that keeps burning into the skin like a nervous flickering – and suddenly you’ve bought frog legs from the weirdo at the end of the road, while your neighbour was hanged for a miscarriage 20 years ago. Let’s name it: When the world is shaken up by war, plague, and climate disaster, it’s tough to not lose focus. You don’t know who to trust.
Let your witch at service help to tell you whom not to trust!
This level of confusion that I have felt during the first months of covid was the main reason I chose the 17th century to write in. Suddenly, I felt history reaching out for me, hurting me, and I connected to times long gone. I still see that confusion everyday. When People sit in the burning sun at 40 degrees (Celsius) to protest against climate protection, against Ukraine, against vaccines. And lately, against glasses.
But let me start at the beginning.
Do you remember the people during the pandemic who claimed that they did not need to get vaccinated, because they had a healthy immune system? They existed before, but during the pandemic, they became more public, because the whole public was involved in solving the issue. So, they promoted supplements, etheric oils, and work out instead. Science communicators often made a comparison to glasses. You have eyes, that’s why you never need glasses?
And at first that argumentation seemed solid, right? The immune system is a thing our body is equipped with at birth, and vaccines can train it to help us overcome certain disease. Our eyes are also available right from birth, and the right kind of lens can help us to see without distortion, in case the muscles around our eyes are a bit out of order.
Well, lately the bubble of health gurus has set their mind on glasses. They are a scam! They are a business hoax from the industry! Don’t buy them, just take vitamin supplements and train your muscles.
It’s so frustrating to see this argumentation twisted, to be honest.
Yes, you may be able to see without glasses although they were once prescribed to you. I went out without glasses from age 14 to 20, because I thought they made me ugly. Wearing them again after years took some getting used to (which is normal!), and it almost completely cured my migraines.
As your witch at service I’m begging you, please don’t ever trust those people.
Just because it’s a business model does not mean it necessarily has to be bad. That is a fallacy. Vaccines work, glasses work. Sunscreen as well, don’t get me started on that one. Yes, your ancestors had a problem with skin cancer. After studying the history of science for a while, I can tell you countless cases of people having seizures, bleedings, and fever out of nowhere before they die very suddenly. Skin cancer was just one of these things that grew for years and just could never be detected. So, please wear sunscreen!
Why am I writing on this? Well, on the one hand, I am a witch and my heart beats for all the confusing aspects of Dystopia we are going through, even post-pandemic-wise. On the other hand, this weird glasses skepticism has now reached the mass media in Germany. I have seen the first serious articles questioning glasses, and I couldn’t believe it.
Final question, for my newer readers, might be why I claim to be trustworthy. Well, I am a teacher for science and society (It’s a thing over here), am working as a science communicator and museum educator, and am currently finishing a master’s degree in History and Philosophy of science, also studying developments in pseudoscience to some degree.
It’s confusing out there, but we can make it through!
Mistress witch writes 