The Jungle Virus Is Neutral
Learning to deal with the coronavirus from fighting a war in the rainforest
In 1941, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, they also landed on the northeast coast of Malaya and bombed Singapore. The British forces did not expect nor plan for this surprise strike. Soon the entire Malay Peninsula was under siege without much resistance. Only a few “stay-behind parties” were hastily assembled to supply intelligence and sabotage Japanese communications.
Colonel Spencer Chapman spent over three years in the jungle leading guerrilla raids against the Japanese occupiers. In The Jungle Is Neutral, he recounts his difficult ordeals and offers insights into fighting off the jungle as well:
The truth is that the jungle is neutral. It provides any amount of fresh water, and unlimited cover for friend as well as foe - an armed neutrality, if you like, but neutrality nevertheless. It is the attitude of the mind that determines whether you go under or survive. There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so. The jungle itself is neutral.
For a taste of jungle life as a guerrilla soldier, Chapman expressed his greatest hardships were the lack of sunlight and color:
In the Pahang jungle we seldom saw the sky. In the daytime only small islands of sunlight filtered through the leafy canopy overhead, and at night it was rare to be able to see enough stars to identify more than one or two constellations … The monotony of the coloring in the jungle was most depressing.
Hardships are both physical and psychological. A tropical jungle teems with life that is in survival mode via protective or predatory tactics: leeches, mosquitoes, thorns, snakes, toxins, tigers and lots more. Physical threats are easier to comprehend and deal with. But the psychological threats play with our minds and sink into our souls to disrupt normal thought. An invisible virus, such as COVID-19, wrecks havoc with both our physical and psychological sensibilities.
The coronavirus is as nasty as the jungle. It is very neutral. Its physical nature is scary since we do not know the full extent of its transmission, just as potential trouble lurks around every patch of a rainforest. The psychological trauma of the virus stems from orders to stay-at-home and spend endless days in quarantine. The monotony of the green jungle caused one to miss the variety of color; the monotony of quarantining caused one to miss the normal pleasures of freedom.
Chapman makes the key point that “attitude of the mind” can instil either strength or weakness. Those who falter are left to die in the jungle within days. Those who persevere can find a way to escape and find freedom again.
Let’s look at another perspective on the ideas of stress, exposure and hardiness.
In Antifragile, Nassim Taleb maps the world of exposures into three properties (triad classification) - fragile, robust and antifragile. A fragile state seeks tranquility, a robust state maintains the status quo and antifragility gains from stress and disorder. These properties cut across the full spectrum of life. (For example in business, industry is fragile, small business is robust and artisans are antifragile.)
The antifragile loves randomness and uncertainty … Antifragility has a singular property of allowing us to deal with the unknown, to do things without understanding them - and to do them well … We are largely better at doing than we are at thinking, thanks to antifragility.
The rainforest can be described as tranquil chaos. There is an amazing equilibrium present that defies its dog-eat-dog world of species, sunlight and nutrient competition. Every layer from the forest floor to the closed canopy illustrates the struggle to survive. It is a showcase for Taleb’s three properties:
Mother Nature is not just “safe”. It is aggressive in destroying and replacing, in selecting and reshuffling … Given the unattainability of perfect robustness, we need a mechanism by which the system regenerates itself continuously by using, rather than suffering from, random events, unpredictable shocks, stressors and volatility.
So what are we to takeaway from the multiyear struggles of a guerrilla soldier, rainforest ecology and the concept of antifragility? How do they apply to the current reality with the coronavirus outbreak?
Here are a few lessons to carry over into the current world that is trying to find solutions to the COVID-19 crisis:
Science Is Neutral
If the science is solid, it should stand on its own merits. It is not swayed by politics or corporate grants. Of course, some researchers are not as stalwart. Neutrality is a function of science to dismiss agendas and get to the facts. The jungle is a free-for-all zone to fight off predators and find prey. A global virus takes no one for granted, whether elderly, young, sickly or super-fit.
Attitude Is A Survival Mechanism
Harsh realities require harsh decisions. In the jungle it means life or death. Your attitude is everything. Under a global coronavirus pandemic, the harsh realities are not as self-evident as in the jungle, but the dangers are very present. Trying to fight for freedom without respecting the enemy is a hazardous course of action. Survival requires patience, prudence and risk. Dependence on risk only usually ensures more casualties and prolongs the road to success.
Humans Are Not As Antifragile
Modernity is moving the needle to fragility. We are not as hardy as our predecessors. Each new generation gains from technological and medical progress, but they also suffer from avoiding being thrown into the fire to forge toughness. As evident by the rise of “cancel culture”, “snowflakes” and “safe zones”, the lack of capacity to take on stressors reduces our resolve to deal with pandemonium or pandemics.
Simplicity Is Effective
Problems are complex; solutions are simple. Surviving in the jungle for three years under constant duress is a difficult and convoluted predicament. Each day requires the right attitude to live to the next one. COVID-19 is the most complex problem faced by earthlings in the last 100 years. Yet, in some countries, such as South Korea and Malaysia, the solutions were simplified: stay-at-home and wear a mask.
Taleb offers two simple statements to underline the dilemma of simplicity: “less is more and usually more effective” and “simplicity is not so simple to attain”. He goes on to explain the effectiveness of heuristics:
… simplified rules of thumb that make things simple and easy to implement. But their main advantage is that the user knows that they are not perfect, just expedient, and is therefore less fooled by their powers.
Mother Nature Is Brutal And Benevolent
Colonel Chapman chose to focus on the bounty of the rainforest. This attitude saved his life. Mother Nature is always indifferent. Humans are just another species in the evolutionary mix. Bacteria and viruses are billions of years old; they are not going anywhere. The coronavirus causing havoc today is just another brick in the wall of life.
Only adaptations allow us to compete with Mother Nature.
Chapman depended on learned skill sets and new experiences to overcome his jungle survival test. Global citizens are now in the same dilemma. Normal practices are not sufficient. Trying to recreate the past, at least in the short-term, is a dangerous pathway. Without adaptation, the species suffers.
COVID-19 is an opportunity to turn the tide of fragility around to prepare ourselves for the next 100 years.
My appreciation to you for taking the time to read these selections and essays. I hope you find some enjoyment and insights about the world we live in. Thanks for supporting Continental Drift by signing up and sharing its content.
— Rick Scobi (@rickscobi)