Some people are panicking. Others are protesting. What is going on?
Is it red state/blue state? Book smarts vs. street smarts? Hypochondriacs vs. daredevils? What gives?
Maybe it’s the way people read headlines. Or maybe it’s the headlines.
Let me show, not tell.
Example A: State A has 1 Covid-19 death on Friday. Saturday, a 2nd death.
Sunday’s Headline: Coronavirus deaths doubled!!!!
People panic! Stores sold out of beer. Mother arrested in toilet paper brawl.
Example B: State B has 10,000 Covid-19 deaths on Friday. Saturday, 9,999 deaths.
Sunday’s Headline: Coronavirus deaths drop!!!!
People Protest! Families leave home. Father arrested for taking kids to park.
Does the media deliberately post provocative headlines?
Maybe. After all, clever taglines sell. But instead of blaming the media for misinformation, perhaps we should take responsibility for actually reading the whole story. And maybe brush up on our math skills.
For example, when 100 goes up by 50%, it becomes 150. But when 150 goes down by 50%, it’s 75. Is it magic, or math? What does a death rate of .01% really mean? How much worse is a death rate of .1%?
Do these things matter? Yes, because understanding the numbers in context helps you make decisions. Mathematical literacy helps you avoid confusion.
It also helps if you are willing to ask questions, even of experts.
For example — is 6 feet really sufficient to keep the virus from spreading? This study from MIT suggests that a cough can travel much further. I’ve seen 29 feet bandied about as the outside limit of how far a cough can go.
But under what conditions? What if everyone is wearing a mask? What if no one coughs or sneezes?
If we have to stay at least 6 feet apart in supermarket lines, shouldn’t we also stay 6 feet away from lines to our left and right? The virus is not, presumably, directional.
You may have noticed I’m only posting questions, not answers.
I’m not an expert on viruses, and the point of the article is not to provide answers. Instead, it’s to encourage you to stay informed, analyze data for yourself and ask questions.
While it’s reassuring to lean on experts in a time of uncertainty, a healthy level of skepticism can actually be, well, healthy.
Your best tool to care for yourself in a crisis is your own brain.
So listen to the experts. Just don’t turn off your brain in the process.
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Previously Published on Medium
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