Yes, the rate of cultural adaptation is challenged by the rate of technological progress. I feel like we haven't even settled the basic question of smartphone etiquette.
Cancelling bonds owed to the Fed would be literally money printing. When the Fed owns bonds, they can be sold on the open market, or allowed to mature, both of which are a form of quantitative tightening.
I experienced this with the collapse of the twin towers on 9/11. I was horrified by the human cost, but so, so interested in what I was seeing. I had often wondered what the collapse of a super-tall would be like, and there it was, on TV.
The interventions deployed against COVID had indeed stopped a notable disease - influenza. It is noteworthy that these interventions were designed to fight the flu, apparently because that was the public health playbook at hand. But I agree it is remarkable how interventions which could crush the flu don't seem to bother any number of common cold viruses much at all.
While the whole world has experienced this pandemic, there is an incredible variety of pandemic experiences out there. Within the United States there are so many variables between states, counties, cities, school districts, and families. A common feature of COVID debate I have noticed is that it often seems like people are not even talking about the same thing.
I live in a state that has had a fairly restrictive approach to COVID - my kids were in remote learning for about a year and we had two periods which could arguably be called "shut downs." But our fortunate circumstances made it so that I do not feel like it was particularly difficult for our children. As a result I have not reacted very strongly to local authorities continuing very cautious policies regarding masks and cohorting in schools. I was initially perplexed by the very strong reactions against the same among my peers, but am coming to understand that, like what this article points out, it has been very difficult for other children.
In my youth it was generally accepted that "George Lucas wrote an entire 9 film series." I don't know how this rumor spread or came to be so widely believed.