> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://pulpconversations.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Return To Normalcy ... - URL: https://pulpconversations.com/return-to-normalcy/ - Published: 2025-10-06T02:21:48.000Z - Updated: 2026-08-24T19:12:42.000Z - Description: Currently the ratio of NHS dentists refusing new pediatric clients: 80% - Author: Vinay Gupta - Tags: Podcast, #Migrated-1787171093388, #Import 2026-08-19 16:25 **For adults it is 90%.** ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/67/42/67423e8e-d1c5-4288-976a-2d7a9b94e567/content/images/2026/08/c5e606dc-025b-4ce0-a7c0-867023802601_245x200.gif) Thankfully we are still more generous towards children en masse - albeit just slightly. I want to introduce the concept of the Service Level Ratio - SLR. Let’s call these National Health Service (UK) statistics: *subsidized*\-SLRs because England’s NHS is a publicly funded enterprise. And let’s flip the ratio above to fit this frame. For example, if 90% of dental practices are refusing new patients that equates to a SLR of 0.1 or 10%. Why would a service provider turn away new clients? The two simplest answers: 1. There is no capacity to serve new clients; or 2. Another client segment has means to pay more. According to [George Monbiot](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/748745/invisible-doctrine-by-george-monbiot-and-peter-hutchison/?ref=pulpconversations.com) (I’ll cover him in a future essay) - an arcane billing system ensures that NHS dentists will lose money on every procedure leaving only the most altruistic among us to work harder for less pay, perhaps out of a personal moral duty to serve. ## Let’s go further. Why should *we the people* promote / fund / support an organization (the government in this case) whose SLR has dropped to 10%? In fact, the NHS achieved its peak SLR of 52.4 % in 2010 - itself a weak “health” ratio if judged on many commercial standards. ## Let’s go further. Which camp are you in? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/67/42/67423e8e-d1c5-4288-976a-2d7a9b94e567/content/images/2026/08/9fa7ea54-f59d-40bc-94c2-d0720c442175_944x240.png) ****Government or No-Government?** Hopefully you don’t fall for this Straw-man trap because life exists on a spectrum and sometimes we go too far in one direction. Unfortunately powerful interests adeptly paint a binary picture for us, encouraging us to avoid healthy debate; instead fanning the flames of existential crises. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/67/42/67423e8e-d1c5-4288-976a-2d7a9b94e567/content/images/2026/08/f1df601e-918d-4cc8-bd52-7371e1218c3e_338x450.gif) Even facts lie on a spectrum in today’s era; highlighted by recent history. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/67/42/67423e8e-d1c5-4288-976a-2d7a9b94e567/content/images/2026/08/9f17a201-d509-42fc-b596-2a343878cace_480x281.gif) Society can and sometimes does stray two [standard deviations](https://www.perplexity.ai/search/please-explain-the-concept-of-ayuMcQ45TwCabL7c0hY.NQ?ref=pulpconversations.com#0) (2 S.D.) from the norm, especially in times of incompetence and over-reach. When this happens - there is a correction. Intuitively, a three standard deviation (3 S.D.) move is probably limited to a *Black Swan* event such as civil war / regime change, genocide or hyperinflation. In honor of October let me try a baseball metaphor - during a correction it’s as if someone hits a home-run but takes a long time to run the bases; only to find out home plate is missing on the way back. Have a look at the following graphs I *made* with Perplexity. How do you interpret the data? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/67/42/67423e8e-d1c5-4288-976a-2d7a9b94e567/content/images/2026/08/9860f61f-695a-4d05-988f-2a5308a5c232_1456x970.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/67/42/67423e8e-d1c5-4288-976a-2d7a9b94e567/content/images/2026/08/9aeafc78-7bbe-4587-b7ef-ed544eeab600_113x90.gif) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/67/42/67423e8e-d1c5-4288-976a-2d7a9b94e567/content/images/2026/08/c45e0103-9043-426c-88c1-83a4ef7d0788_1466x968.png) The global hegemon at work! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/67/42/67423e8e-d1c5-4288-976a-2d7a9b94e567/content/images/2026/08/52390a86-fc3d-4f80-96c9-dbb4969f3170_1470x958.png) Holy smoke, Batman! - The USA is not trading - must be Trump …. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/67/42/67423e8e-d1c5-4288-976a-2d7a9b94e567/content/images/2026/08/8c44b8a9-928e-4b1b-9eff-56a98ffb23b6_480x480.gif) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/67/42/67423e8e-d1c5-4288-976a-2d7a9b94e567/content/images/2026/08/8febfe06-deb2-4757-a34d-363522b8cd87_1452x976.png) Oh doh! If other markets are increasing share then it follows USA is losing share … ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/67/42/67423e8e-d1c5-4288-976a-2d7a9b94e567/content/images/2026/08/daf5862b-7991-4bbf-928a-8e75fe9cb536_1464x976.png) **Shit-hole* countries for the win! So which is it? Is the USA a naughty, nefarious global hegemon? - ***maybe*** Is the USA losing global trade market share? - ***yes*** Is that a *bad* thing? - ***maybe*** Is that a *good* thing? - ***maybe*** Is it logical that leaders of *any* enterprise might want to increase market share, especially after a steady 25-year decline? - ***probably*** ## Now let’s come full circle. In light of declining market share and diminishing Service Levels (reflecting back on that pesky NHS’s SLR of 10%) - is it any wonder that special interest groups and new administrations are grabbing power in the USA, UK and other non-emerging markets? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/67/42/67423e8e-d1c5-4288-976a-2d7a9b94e567/content/images/2026/08/02753701-9ad6-4567-a148-646241e4e613_480x480.gif) This is a complicated issue with many twisty turns. If you want to chat more about this please leave a comment below and I’ll get back to you; and / or set up a discussion group event if there is enough interest. [Leave a comment](#ghost-comments-root) Thanks for reading. [Buy some coffee](https://drink.orangepillcoffee.com/substack?ref=pulpconversations.com) to support my writing. It is literally some of the best in the world. ##### *Music*: Midnight Mischief by Jordan Rakei (Tom Misch remix) ##### *Animation*: manifested by Yours Truly via AI