I’d like to focus on four principles of contagion as have been described by Paul Rozin and his colleagues: 1. Contact: Contamination is caused by contact or physical proximity. 2. Dose Insensitivity: Minimal, even micro, amounts of the pollutant confer harm. 3. Permanence: Once deemed contaminated nothing can be done to rehabilitate or purify the object. 4. Negativity Dominance: When a pollutant and a pure object come into contact the pollutant is “stronger” and ruins the pure object. The pure object doesn’t render the pollutant acceptable or palatable.4
