Introduction

I was born in the West Village of Manhattan, New York the year after President Reagan finally broke the U.S. government’s silence on AIDS. Thus I have grownup in, as Randy Shilts says, the ‘after’ moment of the entire nation, if not world (1). My early childhood is filled with the memories of “uncles” passing away and constant references to amazing people I would never be able to meet. As I made my way through elementary school it seemed as if the fight against AIDS was everywhere as red ribbons appeared on shirts and each year during the first weekend in May it seemed the entire city flocked to the AIDS walk. Middle school and high school took my personal experiences with AIDS and feelings towards AIDS and raised them to a local, then national, and finally international level as the ‘after’ moment of the city seeped into the curriculum.

            When asked to estimate the number of cumulative AIDS cases in my zip code, I said 4,000 cases. Meanwhile the actual number is 2,134 cases (Table 1.1). Furthermore when asked to estimate the male percentage and black percentage of cumulative AIDS cases for my zip code I guessed respectively 70% and 40%. In fact, the numbers are closer to 98% male and 8% black.

Why, with all my experience and education, was I so over/off the mark with my estimates?