Can an event like the COVID quarantine change a person?

[CmdrShep2154]

I used to be interested in science back in 2014 thanks to Neil Degrasse Tyson but sadly I lost interest in science shortly after. In 2016 I got a chance to take a trip to Disney World and became obsessed with consumerism. I became more interested in performing arts. I became jealous of people with office jobs who could afford Disney every year.

Then COVID hits and during the quarantine I checked out "For All Mankind" out of boredom and curiosity. It ends up reigniting my interest in space exploration.

After finishing the first season I devoured any astronaut themed stuff I could get my hands on. "Apollo 13", "First Man", "Hidden Figures", "Interstellar", "Gravity", "The Martian", and even a Russian movie called "Salyut 7". I even check out an anime called "Planetes". "The Martian", "Ford v Ferrari", "Planetes", HBO's "From the Earth to the Moon", and the documentary "When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions" become the most optimistic things I watched during the quarantine.

These days I enjoy more realistic sci fi and astronaut themed stories rather than fantastical space adventures like "Mass Effect" or "Star Wars". Perhaps the quarantine made those stories relatable.





I am now much more appreciative and excited for science.

Could something like the experiences in the year 2020 change a person that much?

Would the world be a better place if people were inspired by astronauts to become both more physically fit and intelligent?

[Progenitor Aquarius]

Wow. I experienced similar thing. Before I was more interested in music performance now I’m am more into film scoring, composing and producing. I realized later than the isolation has done it and when I started to meet people again I started to feel happy and then my motivation to sing and play instruments has increased. Go to gym or meet people it apparently shifts your brain into expressiveness where isolation does the opposite thing.

[Amerissis]

Watching movies is now considered appreciation of science? Ok. But yes, of course a change in your life can change your life... duh.

[PC2]

Watching movies is now considered appreciation of science? Ok. But yes, of course a change in your life can change your life... duh.

Sure why not? As long as they don't violate the laws of physics in a scifi movie then we should appreciate what STEM can offer humanity.

[Shadowferal]

Almost 30% of those hospitalized with covid leave with a reduction in physical ability, to the point of disability. Considering that most are currently in red states. I fully expect not only a change in lifestyle, but a reconsideration of political options.

[draynay]

Sure why not? As long as they don't violate the laws of physics in a scifi movie

But they always do.

[XDurionX]

But they always do.

Pretty much. If they didn't it was a Science Movie, not Science Fiction. I don't get why OP has to brute force SF into every topic, even a question about Covid.

On Topic: Yes, social isolation is a huge stress to social beings like humans. Solitude is as hazardous to your health as heavy smoking. That's why astronauts have to endure VERY tough psychological selection tests.

[Daedius]

Considering people became suicidal during it, yes.

[PC2]

Pretty much. If they didn't it was a Science Movie, not Science Fiction. I don't get why OP has to brute force SF into every topic, even a question about Covid.

On Topic: Yes, social isolation is a huge stress to social beings like humans. Solitude is as hazardous to your health as heavy smoking. That's why astronauts have to endure VERY tough psychological selection tests.

I don't think that is categorically true about the scifi genre. There can be fantasy scifi but there can also be speculative fiction that is 100% scientifically plausible. Usually it depends on whether the producers hire a STEM advisor and whether they think they should adhere to the expert's guidelines or go crazy with their creative license.

[XDurionX]

I don't think that is categorically true about the scifi genre. There can be fantasy scifi but there can also be speculative fiction that is 100% scientifically plausible. Usually it depends on whether the producers hire a STEM advisor and whether they think they should adhere to the expert's guidelines or go crazy with their creative license.

"Interstellar" was hailed for its scientific consultation, and 90% of it is bullshit. That's because science is hard work and fucking boring.

[Biglog]

People are dynamic and always changing to some degree. The COVID pandemic and lockdown definitely accelerated that though and affected people in different ways. I became more interested in gardening and cooking. The pandemic has been terrible, but I do think for a lot of people it has almost been like a needed sabbatical for time to reflect on themselves and what is really important in life. That's why you saw many people change careers, move, even divorce.

It's easy to fall into a rut of doing the same thing day after day. But events like this (9-11 did the same) make you reevaluate things and realize how short life is, along with the importance of being happy in our short times here.

[Endus]

"Interstellar" was hailed for its scientific consultation, and 90% of it is bullshit. That's because science is hard work and fucking boring.

Interstellar was hailed for the science that went into the black hole accretion disk visualization.

And pretty much nothing else.

That the movie's final moral is that "love is the strongest power in the universe" should enrage anyone who's had to fuckin' sit through it. Nolan makes pretty films that are stupid as fuck but fake being smart really well. I rank him pretty much in the same category as J.J. Abrams at this point.

[jonnysensible]

Interstellar was hailed for the science that went into the black hole accretion disk visualization.

And pretty much nothing else.

That the movie's final moral is that "love is the strongest power in the universe" should enrage anyone who's had to fuckin' sit through it. Nolan makes pretty films that are stupid as fuck but fake being smart really well. I rank him pretty much in the same category as J.J. Abrams at this point.

arrival was the movie interstellar wanted to be tbh

[Endus]

arrival was the movie interstellar wanted to be tbh

There's fuckin' great sci-fi out there. Just looking at the last 10-12 years or so, there's Moon, Attack the Block, Coherence, Predestination, Ex Machina, 10 Cloverfield Lane, Upgrade, etc.

And that's just counting films that weren't massive box-office draws and which don't trend to the weirder ends of things. Or I'd be bringing up stuff like The Martian and Edge of Tomorrow, on bid-budget, and stuff like Colossal or Under the Skin, which are definitely more on the weirder side of things. And some of those films were dirt cheap to make, so it's not about budgets, either.

Interstellar's more akin to stuff like Lucy, which came out the same year. It may be pretty, but it ain't smart.

[Sunseeker]

Anything can change anyone if they're open to change.

[YUPPIE]

I think I've changed a lot. I've lost a lot of my morals and lean towards far-right ideologies nowadays.

[Shadowferal]

I think I've changed a lot. I've lost a lot of my morals and lean towards far-right ideologies nowadays.

[draynay]

I think I've changed a lot. I've lost a lot of my morals and lean towards far-right ideologies nowadays.

Haven't you always been an amoral authoritarian goon?

[uuuhname]

Haven't you always been an amoral authoritarian goon?

I'm not sure how you can possibly live through the last year and not be more radicalized but in the exact opposite direction of that person...

[Omega10]

People are dynamic and always changing to some degree. The COVID pandemic and lockdown definitely accelerated that though and affected people in different ways. I became more interested in gardening and cooking. The pandemic has been terrible, but I do think for a lot of people it has almost been like a needed sabbatical for time to reflect on themselves and what is really important in life. That's why you saw many people change careers, move, even divorce.

It's easy to fall into a rut of doing the same thing day after day. But events like this (9-11 did the same) make you reevaluate things and realize how short life is, along with the importance of being happy in our short times here.

The pandemic, and the responses of the anti-mask people, have had significant impacts on my life, and the way I view it.

The obvious change is that I lost every last bit of respect that I held onto towards Trump supporters. They have become suicidal, and are trying to bring everyone else down to where they are. I tried hard to hold out some hope for them, but DeSantis and Abbot in particular have squashed that. But it's not just the politicians, Individual people are doing really obnoxious and rude things to people wearing masks like pulling down someone's mask and coughing in their face. REALLY??? It would be nice if this were an isolated situation, but these kinds of things are happening repeatedly and all over the country. The event in Sturgiss is their declaration that we don't care if you die, we are going to have our event. I don't even feel sad or angry about this anymore, just dismissive.

Second of all, I am much more comfortable taking care of myself and my family - where the definition of family specifically includes several people that I am not biologically related to. I work hard to eat right, my drugs of choice are caffeinated tea and dark chocolate, and I am doing 10k steps 2-3 times a week depending on my knees. I am getting older, so I can't do 10k steps every day, but 2 days of 10k steps and a third day of around 7-8k steps will have to do. I work hard to be VERY patient with those I interact with on a daily basis, and understand the stresses that they are dealing with as well.

I have reached out to people that I am very compatible with, I work hard to maintain these relationships, and that is what my life is about. The time I spend being angry when corporate entities do stupid things that impact me in a negative way is much less than it used to be. Life goes on, and I'm doing what I can to be happy despite the current events that are happening these days.