In this Monday’s edition (17) of the Medical Correspondent, of Novo Dia, neurosurgeon Fernando Gomes commented on the controversy surrounding the deportation of tennis player Novak Djokovic from Australia, after he failed to prove vaccination against Covid-19, and how idol attitudes can influence fans.
Athlete number one in the world in the modality and multi-champion in the most important tennis tournaments, the Serbian had already taken sides regarding the immunization against the coronavirus – having even contracted the disease in December 2021. His stay in Australian territory was revoked by the authorities in the country on Sunday (16), when he boarded a flight to Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, and had to abandon the Australian Open.
According to Fernando Gomes, the motor examples from one person to another are based on the so-called “mirror neurons”, which, when observing someone’s movement, are automatically triggered by the brain in an attempt to repeat the process. The same applies to the behavioral area, through imitation learning.
The neurosurgeon explained that, especially in raising children, the attitudes adopted are more important than speech commands, such as orders given by parents. The main reason lies in the entry of behavioral information into the brain, which has a more potent effect. “One only learns to dance by dancing. It’s no use passing rational information through the ear and having a different behavior.”
“[A reprodução de comportamento] causes a lot of concern. A person who has relevance, a surface of contact with many people and an admiration in the face of a situation we are experiencing, which is the pandemic, we would like you to set an example of what we believe to be reasonable at this moment”, said Gomes. “It is a moment that demands an active attitude in the fight against the coronavirus”, he said.
The doctor believes that, in this case, Djokovic’s position can influence several people not to be vaccinated, but that the situation can also teach the population to separate idols from their private decisions.
“He has the ability to hit a ball with a racket, but maybe in other respects it’s charging too much. The same goes for when we talk about artists, journalists, doctors… there is a common sense, it’s no wonder that all this is happening.”
“There are rules and a much greater concern than a championship, which ends up being the health of humanity. In some way, he can influence yes, but he is giving an example that we have to separate the wheat from the chaff. He remains the idol, a person with admirable psychomotor ability, but that doesn’t invalidate or benefit him for that reason.”
Gomes pointed out that the differences between “individuals” and “juridicals” go beyond celebrities, and can apply to any citizen.
“We are all human beings and the biological rules of existence in the physical world end up being the same for everyone. You stumbled here on planet Earth, you’re going to fall to the ground, it doesn’t matter if you’re the first in tennis or the last in football”, he concluded.
Reference: CNN Brasil
