Why we like normalcy, outside schools, and the best things you've ever done for your health

Hey all you cool cats and kittens …

Anyone else miss normalcy? I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sad to lose the commute to the office, hugging, and certain other elements of Normal Times. But, boy, what I wouldn’t give now for a long, indoor, maskless dinner at a nice restaurant, over a tiny table, with a good friend and a bottle of wine. Or a concert. Or a trip to the pool that isn’t streaked with anxiety over booking the right lane and not overstaying my allotted time. You have to hand it to normalcy on that one.

For an episode of WHYY’s The Pulse about the science of personality, I talked about why it is we love normalcy and people who act normal. As I write in my book, tight cultures, in particular, value the upholding of norms and the following of rules. As compared to loose cultures, tight cultures tend to have a set way of doing things—think fundamentalist religious communities. Loose cultures are like Burning Man or, frankly, Los Angeles in general. I wonder if a year of not following the typical rules—of not having things be normal—will lead to a permanent loosening of society.

(P.S., for more on tightness and looseness, check out Michele Gelfand’s work.)

Why can’t we have school outside? Recently I’ve been reporting on the pains of virtual learning—like some students’ lack of internet and teachers’ struggle to engage students without seeing them in person. But there’s one overlooked solution: Outdoor school. Why aren’t we doing more of it, especially in temperate climates? For a recent article, I dug into some of the reasons.

I asked Vanessa Carter, an environmental-literacy content specialist with the San Francisco Unified School District, Why isn’t the movement broader? Why aren’t all elementary schools setting up tiny desks on their soccer field right now?

“I ask myself that question every day,” she said. Carter has been working to bring outdoor learning to the district. “I think that many people can only be as imaginative as what they’re familiar with.”

What’s the best thing you’ve ever done for your health?

Or so I tweeted recently. Mine was to get an electric toothbrush, which somehow eliminated my lifelong dental woes. I think I honestly had not been brushing good enough! They tell you this at the dentist, and I am starting to think you should believe those guys.

The answers mostly broke down into “self care”—turn off your phone, meditate, get a hammock, etc—and actual care, like getting on necessary medications. Looooots of people said exercise. One person said having kids—sounds dubious but okay!

Reading all the replies led me to suspect that the best thing you can do for your health is whatever you feel improves your health, and that you can stick to, even if it’s not necessarily the very best possible thing, scientifically speaking. Just something to keep in mind in case you’re worried about your laps/times/crow poses/vegan cheese.