2014 Shaping the Future of New York Fridays: 11:00-1:45 Boylan Hall, 2231

The first chapters of Ghost Map were vital to my understanding of cholera and the epidemics that so tragically plagued Europe. I was not surprised, however, that many people were succumbing to the miasma theory concerning the beginnings of the disease. Citizens saw the disgusting ways in which the city was spread out and smelling. They attributed the recent sicknesses to the sewage and heavily population/smell of decay and feces. However, many physicians and theorists were staring at the wrong problem and approaching it with the wrong ideas of how to fix it. This is often the case for our modern society, also, however. We may have the tools to fix a certain, large scale problem, yet are very misdirected in our efforts. The Ghost Map shows how the power of a few determined people can bring about justice and understanding to a cloudy minded society of dying and cholera infected London.

Though I certainly enjoyed reading the last few chapters of The Ghost Map, I couldn’t help but come away with the impression that Steven Johnson’s work, while admittedly quite riveting, faded slightly down the stretch Johnson’s repeated rehashing of the miasma theory’s inexplicable hold on the otherwise educated and reasonable medical establishment grew quite tedious, and his subsequent, and slightly pretentious, bewilderment at the very notion of such stubborn and irrational thinking is almost certainly a beneficiary of excellent hindsight To prove my point, I quote: “How could so many intelligent people be so grievously wrong for such an extended period of time? How could they ignore so much overwhelming evidence that contradicted their most basic theories? These questions, too, deserve their own discipline: the sociology of error”

While he was concerned with belittling the intelligence of a long gone medical establishment, Johnson grievously forgot to mention the myriad of airborne diseases which were, in fact, adequately, at least at that time, explained by the miasma theory Some of the most destructive diseases of Victorian-era England can spread by airborne transmission, including the flu, measles, smallpox and tuberculosis At its peak in the 19th century, Tuberculosis was responsible for 25% of all deaths in Europe How can you fault physicians for being reluctant to shy away from a theory that so sufficiently accounted for the most dangerous disease of their time?

(Submitted on time, as a comment, moved to a post by Jennifer)

Having studied the cholera outbreak in London in my macaulay seminar last semester, I was interested to see how this book would differ from what I’ve knew. As I read it, what struck me immediately is how much the book brings to life the history- as opposed to just saying “living conditions were bad,” the book paints a picture that allows one to appreciate the conditions of the time. By telling the story as more of a narrative, with history and fact woven in, we can relate to a much greater degree than by simply reading dry historical reports. Reading through the other comments, it’s clear that others also got a vivid picture of the time through their use of rather colorful adjectives.

By Josh Setton