Positive thinking

Amelia S. Worsley, Amherst College   Is loneliness our modern malaise? Former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy says the most common pathology he saw during his years of service “was not heart disease or diabetes; it was loneliness.” Chronic loneliness, some say , is like “smoking 15 cigarettes a day.” It “ kills more people than obesity .” Because loneliness is now considered a public health issue – and even an epidemic – people are exploring its causes and trying to find solutions. While writing a book on the history of how poets wrote about loneliness in the Romantic Period , I discovered that loneliness is a relatively new concept and once had an easy cure. However, as the concept’s meaning has transformed, finding solutions has become harder. Returning to the origins of the word – and understanding how its meaning has changed through time – gives us a new way to think about modern loneliness, and the ways in which we might address it. The dangers of ve...

Alessandro Di Nuovo, Sheffield Hallam University   The film Robot and Frank imagined a near-future where robots could do almost everything humans could. The elderly title character was given a “robot butler” to help him continue living on his own. The robot was capable of everything from cooking and cleaning to socialising (and, it turned out, burglary). This kind of science fiction may turn out to be remarkably prescient. As growing numbers of elderly people require care, researchers believe that robots could be one way to address the overwhelming demand. But while robots might be able to provide care and, in some cases, social interaction, many wonder if they really are the right solution to this uniquely human issue. One recent survey found that while 68% of people agree robots are beneficial because they can help people, only 26% surveyed said they’d be comfortable with a robot providing help and companionship for them if they were in hospital or care. Commenta...