The beat goes on. The gut-thump of the conspiracy theory drum, egged on by the mind-altering crash of the fake fact cymbal and the seductive tinkle of the did-you-hear triangle.

Social distancing did not stop the beat. Neither did working from home. If anything, isolation increased the need for a little gossip. (You thought Instant Messaging during group video calls was for serious communication?)

Did I say need for gossip? Yes. Gossip seems to be a human need. Just another burden of being a social animal.

(Like any burden, we can choose to put it down. But will we?)

Yes! We lucky ones have made it through another hurricane season.

What triggers a hurricane? Some people believe the flap of far away butterfly wings trigger hurricanes. It’s like that giant whale flapping his tail fin to create the ocean tides.

Actually, hurricanes begin with hot air rising. As the hot air rises, colder air swirls in. The key word is swirls. It is the stirring of hot air that creates the hurricane.

I have seen the same effect at work. Someone hears a bit of office gossip, often just hot air, but cannot resist stirring. We know what happens then as the social energy rises at the water cooler.

The butterfly flapping its wings is a concept in chaos theory. (Edward Lorenz called it the Butterfly Effect.)

We should call those who gossip Butterfly Lips, because their flapping lips stir chaos at the office.

Welcome to my side of the nonsense divide.