Causation
Shan was a clever, fun-loving, and helpful person who had people skills and loved his job. He was on his way home on a Friday evening after a rather long day at work. He did not like to leave his work incomplete and got a little late trying to finish it. Shan was an environmentalist and preferred to cycle to work and back, twice a day, seven days a week, even during rain. When he got home at nine that evening, he went straight to his bedroom, and immediately lay down on his bed. He sighed and settled on his soft mattress, retrospecting the incidents of his day.
Since his childhood, Shan used to be meticulous about his work. He would not complain about too much homework, nor would he do it shabbily. Soon, he began to grow a particular interest in biology, especially the human body. It fascinated him to understand the functionalities of the entire human organism and its relation to its environment. By eighteen, he was determined to study in a medical school and become a doctor, which led him to excel at his studies. By twenty-seven, he had passed his examinations and found a job in the finest hospital in the city.
That Friday morning, a woman had come to visit him due to injuries she had sustained in an accident. She did not seem to be in anguish, but she was upset that she could not get to the meeting she was supposed to attend. She kept talking about how important it was in her career and what a loss this accident had caused her. While she did that, she was also coughing a lot, but she did not even mention that. Shan listened to her curiously while prescribing three medicines for her. He patiently waited a moment to ask her about the coughing, but she did not seem to stop. Eventually, when he did get a chance to speak, he mentioned that she should go and get those wounds dressed up. She quickly thanked him, took the piece of paper with the names of the medicines, and left before Shan could say anything else.
The doctor then sat back and sighed in relief before turning his attention to the remaining patients. He spent the rest of his day in a monotonous manner until, later in the evening, that same woman appeared again. This time, she not only mentioned her coughing but could not stop talking about it. She told him every detail he needed to know, and Shan began prescribing the necessary medicines. He then interrupted her and said he would like her to perform some tests because the symptoms she was describing were uncommon. Upon hearing this, she became speechless, then suddenly thanked him and hurriedly left before he could stop her.
Shan was confused and tired after the long day in the hospital. As he cycled home through the city of Wuhan that day, he thought, "Why can't she taste or smell anything? Meh, what is the worst that could happen"?