Data Visualization and The Corona Conversation

Photo by Charles Deluvio on Unsplash

You may have noticed that there are two conversations about Covid-19 going on.

The first is about how long we should socially distance to save all the lives we can.

The second is about how much damage the economy can take as we socially distance. When must we reopen no matter the cost?

These conversations do not tend to occur at the same time. As far as I’m aware, not one major media organization has graphed, side by side, their most reliable model for Covid-19 deaths and their most reliable model for the economic damage done by the shut down, including the deaths that inevitably result from a poor economy.

There are a few reasons why, without pointing fingers and impugning morals.

1. No one has thought to do it.
2. No one thinks the comparison would be useful.
3. No one thinks the comparison would be socially acceptable.
4. A mixture of the above.

Fair enough. It’s not useful to point fingers at a time like this when we could be working on solutions with that energy.

So why hasn’t this been done yet? I don’t know, but what I do know is the fact that I’m aware that it hasn’t been done acts as a demotivator rather than a motivator to do so myself.

There are Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics. I lost my glasses a few blocks back, but if you need me I’ll be looking for them under the streetlight, because that’s where the light is.