Our inability to assess risk

dding-left: 40px”>Back in 1784, the philosopher Immanuel Kant defined the Enlightenment as a collective emergence from self-imposed immaturity. All that is needed, he declared, is for people to have the freedom to make public use of their own reason in all matters. More than two centuries later, it seems we are still struggling to come of age.

Of course, as Williams acknowledges, this isn't just about the current pandemic. We already have a considerable number of restrictions on our behaviour, from seat belts in cars and speed restrictions to the ban on smoking in pubs. It's inevitable in a modern society. The pandemic lockdown, though, is testing our reliance on such restrictions way above and beyond the normal – to breaking point, perhaps. I notice in shops now, for instance, that the supposed requirement for face-masks in being widely ignored. Is that a sign of gross irresponsibility, or an indication that people are beginning to make their own decisions and are sick of being told what to do when they know their chances of catching or passing on the virus are minimal by now? I wear one out of courtesy, really, but I can't say I'm outraged by those who don't bother.