The machine stops read online

Howards End is the origin of Forster’s famous catchphrase, “Only connect!,” expressing his belief in the essential need for human relationships. His literary classics Howards End, about British social relationships in Edwardian times, and A Passage to India, about British rule in India, are also known through their masterly film versions. The prophet was the great English novelist E.M. Yet the surprising fact is your tech-heavy exile is not a brand new idea in the Internet Age. But as cabin fever sets in and we miss friends and family, it’s natural to wonder about the mental and social cost of widespread physical separation. As shown by the experience in China 1 and recent studies, 2 voluntary isolation to extreme lockdown are effective in slowing or stopping pandemics.

Chances are, you’re hunkered down at home right now, as I am, worried about COVID-19 and coping by means of Instacart deliveries, Zoom chats, and Netflix movies, while avoiding others and the outside world.