Normalization of Deviance in the Time of COVID-19

ABSTRACT

[...]the normalization of deviance has been at least partially to blame in many notable accidents, including the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster and the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill. In real life, deviating from doing things the right way typically results in nothing, writes Schmidt. Because we usually get away with deviating from doing things the right way, deviations become the new normal. In the short term, the best way to halt the spread of this disease will be to maintain a strict standard of hand-sanitizing, mask wearing, and social distancing - and deviate from that standard as little as possible.