When life-styles change, people discover a little bit more about themselves, or at least, a bit more about how they respond to change. For people living in Köppen’s C and D climates—essentially temperate transition zones between the continuous warmth of the tropics and the bitter cold of boreal lands—a yearly acclimatization is a common experience.* There is no need to acclimate in a steady state. The summer clothes stay in closets during winter, and the winter clothes stay in closets during the summer. And that same principle is especially true of human “weather.” The daily small fluctuations of life are normal, and every psyche lives acclimatized during an uninterrupted season of “normality.” An adapted psyche wears the same social clothing, and there’s no need to run to the storage closet to pull out garb for a different season.
In the green-technology circles of Germany, some have been concerned about Dunkelflauten, what can be translated as “dark doldrums.” Electrical grid managers believe that solar cell and wind power technologies have to have backups for days on which the wind doesn’t blow or the sun doesn’t shine. In 2020 people all over the world are experiencing their own form of Dunkelflauten as their normal activities stop. The pandemic is a period of psychological and social Dunkelflauten, and such an abruptly occurring change in human weather has forced a new kind of acclimatization on much, if not on all, of humanity.
The concern that the grid managers have about changing over completely to “green” energy has them scrambling to discover ways to anticipate Dunkelflauten and to adapt the electrical grid to their eventuality. They know that there are weaknesses in the electrical grid system that might be exacerbated by dark and calm days—or, in fact, by other disruptions, such as overwhelming DC current from solar flares. And they know they must incorporate alternative energy systems “just in case.”
Now practically everyone has encountered in a pandemic a sequence of unusual days when the current of life (and lifestyles) has been interrupted, even halted by a dark disease. Throughout the world psyches have to adapt; societies, too. The season has changed abruptly. An early frost has arrived in the midst of a vibrant life. And just as people shudder and shiver at the onset of autumn, so they also become aware of their bodies. The transition between seasons gives people a renewed perspective on themselves and instills in them a heightened self-awareness.
The lessons of temperature acclimatization indicate that humans can periodically become more self-aware and that they can also adapt to physical change. The lessons of these pandemic Dunkelflauten indicate the need for both patience and anticipation. Waiting is difficult, as sailors found out when their ships entered the doldrums. But Earth is a dynamic planet, and even in the subtropical doldrums, winds eventually blow; ships eventually move.
Those who have learned to adapt to yearly fluctuations in weather know to have clothing for another season handy because another season is inevitable; its coming, ineluctable. The current of life might be interrupted by a dark calm right now. Be patient; the winds of social activity will blow and the darkness will give way to sunshine. But during these Dunkelflauten, you have an opportunity to become more self-aware.
*When the usual early warm days of August and early September succumb to autumn’s approach, a drop from temperatures in the 80sF to those in the 50sF makes people shiver; after a winter of cold days, a rise to the 50sF makes people cherish the “warmth.” The human body takes a while to adapt.
In the green-technology circles of Germany, some have been concerned about Dunkelflauten, what can be translated as “dark doldrums.” Electrical grid managers believe that solar cell and wind power technologies have to have backups for days on which the wind doesn’t blow or the sun doesn’t shine. In 2020 people all over the world are experiencing their own form of Dunkelflauten as their normal activities stop. The pandemic is a period of psychological and social Dunkelflauten, and such an abruptly occurring change in human weather has forced a new kind of acclimatization on much, if not on all, of humanity.
The concern that the grid managers have about changing over completely to “green” energy has them scrambling to discover ways to anticipate Dunkelflauten and to adapt the electrical grid to their eventuality. They know that there are weaknesses in the electrical grid system that might be exacerbated by dark and calm days—or, in fact, by other disruptions, such as overwhelming DC current from solar flares. And they know they must incorporate alternative energy systems “just in case.”
Now practically everyone has encountered in a pandemic a sequence of unusual days when the current of life (and lifestyles) has been interrupted, even halted by a dark disease. Throughout the world psyches have to adapt; societies, too. The season has changed abruptly. An early frost has arrived in the midst of a vibrant life. And just as people shudder and shiver at the onset of autumn, so they also become aware of their bodies. The transition between seasons gives people a renewed perspective on themselves and instills in them a heightened self-awareness.
The lessons of temperature acclimatization indicate that humans can periodically become more self-aware and that they can also adapt to physical change. The lessons of these pandemic Dunkelflauten indicate the need for both patience and anticipation. Waiting is difficult, as sailors found out when their ships entered the doldrums. But Earth is a dynamic planet, and even in the subtropical doldrums, winds eventually blow; ships eventually move.
Those who have learned to adapt to yearly fluctuations in weather know to have clothing for another season handy because another season is inevitable; its coming, ineluctable. The current of life might be interrupted by a dark calm right now. Be patient; the winds of social activity will blow and the darkness will give way to sunshine. But during these Dunkelflauten, you have an opportunity to become more self-aware.
*When the usual early warm days of August and early September succumb to autumn’s approach, a drop from temperatures in the 80sF to those in the 50sF makes people shiver; after a winter of cold days, a rise to the 50sF makes people cherish the “warmth.” The human body takes a while to adapt.
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