This is a little piece I wrote for the German magazine Wendepunk.t in 2018. I thought it might cheer you up: Is our existence now actually at a turning point in history? Are we living in the very eye of an apocalyptic storm (or hurricane, even); inside the very core of a critical mass? It is tempting to believe it, if we judge by the so called media flow – “real” and “fake” alike. Never before has there been such an avalanche of chaotic memes and schemes. However, this is mainly a technological phenomenon; not one of information proper. The messages, reactions, pros, cons, attempts at manipulation and coercion, etc, are basically the same as they were one hundred years ago. But the digital gadgets and gizmos facilitate an unprecedented and amplified onslaught that temporarily shuts down critical thinking and instead opens up the floodgates of clashing emotions, thinly disguised as “debate.” It’s a weight issue considerably more than a “Wait!” issue. These platforms of encouraged...

Let’s just begin by admitting that we’ve been very blessed. No wars, no natural disasters, no pandemics… Well, until now, that is. But that is exactly what brought up the blessing aspect in my mind. Up until now, it’s been a pretty smooth ride. Did we really think it was going to last forever? An extension of this state of feeling blessed certainly touches upon the actual isolation most of us are experiencing right now. For me and my wife Vanessa, life is not that out of the ordinary. We both work from home anyway, and work continues more or less the same. I am happy/blessed to realise that business hasn’t fully slumped to the level I dreaded initially. I guess people still need books to read – perhaps now more than ever? I don’t know whether it’s a new kind of rhythm because we hardly go out anymore, or whether we have a deep-rooted fear of the pandemic itself that simply makes us ultra-efficient. No matter what, we have been incredibly productive recently, and we have also cleaned...