Probably the most frustrating element of the apocalyptic media’s coverage of the Corona-virus is  their use of numbers. It’s impossible to know the percentage death rate or the percentage of people who have recovered.  Why, because we don’t know how many people have been affected. Logic tells us it is many times more than what is being reported, which makes the percentage death rate even smaller.

Another element of understanding math is the veracity of numbers. As with everything, one has to consider the source.The number of Chinese deaths and other statistics reported by the Chinese communist government was slavishly accepted by the American media. If our idiotic media had any inkling of history or understanding of geopolitics, nothing out of China is believable. This is like believing that the USSR had elections and 99% of voters supported the regime.

Then there is the media’s sensational use of numbers. There is the ole percentage increase screech. Deaths rise by 100%! If you had 1 death on Tuesday and 2 on Wednesday, that’s 100%. And no where is there the use of comparative analysis.  3 million people die in the United States each year, thus far we have had 23,000 Corona deaths, which equates to .007% of all deaths. Almost certainly, deaths from other viruses this year have fallen dramatically.

Finally, there is the human nature element of “counting.” The vast majority of people dying from Corona-virus have comorbidities, such as obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure. Let’s face it, many of these people are in the process of dying. If all the buzz in the media is about the Corona-virus, it is only natural that hospital workers want to elevate themselves to the status of brave front line worker, and tag deaths as Corona related. This isn’t a slight against hospital workers. If I sprain my ankle, I am much more apt to claim it was done in pursuit of a bank robber than to admit I tripped over the cat. One must also, as in every endeavor, follow the money. Are there extra resources being thrown at hospitals and medical professionals due to fighting the virus. I suspect there are.

One must always think.