From Pharaohs to Facebook

Malaria is one of the oldest diseases known to man and is estimated to be the most deadly in human history. There is evidence that ancient Egyptians suffered from this disease. However, our understanding of the virus itself, how it propagates and how it affects the human body has grown immensely, to the point that efforts to fight it are occurring at the genome level.

Unfortunately, malaria kills to this day. Like a villain that keeps coming back despite attempts to kill it, this one has not yet gone away. A 2 month old child from Cameroon was one of its recent victims. Scores of others are afflicted with malaria who do not die but who are weakened for days on end.

To those who live in areas in which malaria has been eradicated, the continued deadly existence elsewhere is a horror when the human cost is detailed. But for those who live in malaria endemic areas, it is both a profound tragedy and a regular visitor to the person, family or acquaintance. In this nearly existential relationship with visited death the societal experience is similar to that of shooting fatalities in some neighborhoods in many big cities.

It is possible to avoid getting malaria. It is known that it enters humans via the mosquito. Therefore, efforts to minimize exposure to this insect are helpful, such as wearing clothing that covers exposed skin and sleeping under a mosquito net. In some areas, it is possible to eliminate areas of standing water which removes breeding grounds for mosquitoes  And harsh chemicals can be deployed to destroy them in the places they grow and inhabit.

But there is an almost odd acceptance of malaria in some societies. It's as if so much energy is spent on surviving that there is some respect for this devil that has also persisted. And it's a devil that is so wound up in their way of life that to eradicate the disease would change their existence and maybe even destroy it. But what must be done to prevent this random suffering that spares none, not even a newborn baby?

We saw the first images of the baby on Facebook. Pictures of the fat cheeked little one with her mother. The digital images uploaded to a server in Africa, then retrieved when the mother's updates were propagated to an account in the United States. The technology and the worldwide infrastructure needed to support this is astounding.

As an ancient disease continues to confound efforts at its eradication, those of us touched by it can also marvel at how something that brings death in so many cases can have persisted so long. And wonder how a world with so much knowledge and capability can still succumb to this cruel, inscrutable scourge.

Advice to new graduates

1. Develop frontal lobe - The young mind tends to choose the option that will result in the biggest reaction rather than the one which is less controversial but better in the long term. One manifestation is using curse words to express emotion. Practice expressing alternatives to swearing; this is one way to force your mind to work harder to generate a response using the frontal lobe and improve cognitive thinking.

2. Embrace uncertainty - With more data being generated, analyzed and available it is important to recognize the odds and probabilities the data represents and the implications it suggests. Focus both on the most and the least likely; the former has implications for the majority but the latter is where fewer are affected but the implications are often bigger.

3. Question information sources - More facts, news and opinions are available than ever before, but it is necessary to ensure their authenticity before acting on them. It is also necessary to recognize the difference between opinion based on thoughts and experience and those with a factual basis.

4. Challenge undeserved authority - In most societies the echelon of the oldest have the levers of control in their hands and also contribute much influence via money. These characteristics usually serve a society well, but there are occasions when the need for change becomes urgent. It is therefore incumbent on members of society to express disagreement and dissatisfaction with the members and institutions of authority when their stance is based solely on tradition or the simple preservation of control.

5. Reclaim liberty - The government can review your library borrowing, monitor your bank financial transactions and listen to your phone conversations without notifying you. They can exclude you from flying on an airplane and require you to give your DNA while you are presumed innocent. Ask the government to prove that these abrogations of liberty are still necessary and then demand their repeal.