The Class of COVID-19

In the weeks since COVID-19 turned from “that thing in China” to a worldwide pandemic, we’ve undergone a data renaissance. People who previously couldn’t have cared less about charts and statistics are now hitting refresh on case trackers and avidly checking on graphs that show how the curve is being flattened.

This stuff grips us in a way that data never really has before, because of just how real it is. It’s literally life or death, and in a time when so much is unknown, understanding the numbers gives us something to hold on to.

But everything we’re schooling ourselves in right now — in reading graphs, in understanding how biased data can lead to skewed results, in understanding the value of different metrics — will serve us well long after this pandemic is over.

Lesson One: The Curve (aka Know Where Your Data Has Come From)
Lesson Two: Dead Wrong (aka The Numbers Behind The Headlines)
Lesson Three: #FlattenTheCurve (aka Know What Problem You’re Solving)
Lesson Four: COVIZ-19 (aka Telling Stories with Data)
Lesson Five: Pandemics & Payday Loans (aka APRs & The Magic of Compounding)