Math is having a moment. Never before, perhaps, has a graph loomed so large in our cultural consciousness, as we embrace the public health imperative to “flatten the curve.” Whether you’re a numbers whiz or think you would rather die of COVID-19 than revisit your high school math class, Jocelyn and Bradley will show you that the soul of mathematics is compassion. Fundamentally, math is not about numbers, but about relationships. Math is a tool for empathy, teaching us how our actions affect one another and enabling us to make informed decisions to take better care of each other. Math connects us, and at the same time, it helps us understand how we are connected. In this episode, the hosts discuss the unique status of mathematical knowledge as a means of thinking, interpreting, predicting, and intervening. In particular, they consider what we might call the numeracy gap—disparities in mathematical understanding—and how this gap has fueled conflicting interpretations of and responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. From risk calculations to exponential growth functions, math is the mental apparatus that allows us to project from what we are observing to what we will observe in the future, from our individual realities to our collective reality.

When are you ever going to use algebra? Right now, friends. Right now.

For further information:

Johns Hopkins COVID-19 tracker: https://www.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6

“Hold the Line,” by Yale epidemiologist Jonathan Smith:
https://elemental.medium.com/hold-the-line-17231c48ff17

Exponential growth:

Coronavirus vs. every 2000s epidemic (Cary Huang): https://youtu.be/n4no04822NQ
Exponential growth and epidemics (3Blue1Brown): https://youtu.be/Kas0tIxDvrg
Simulating an epidemic (3Blue1Brown): https://youtu.be/gxAaO2rsdIs

Interactive graphs:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/03/13/opinion/coronavirus-trump-response.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/world/corona-simulator/

The story behind ‘flatten the curve,’ the defining chart of the coronavirus:
https://www.fastcompany.com/90476143/the-story-behind-flatten-the-curve-the-defining-chart-of-the-coronavirus

Modeling the pandemic:
https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/modelers-struggle-to-predict-the-future-of-the-covid-19-pandemic-67261
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/03/how-many-americans-are-sick-lost-february/608521/

Further Reading:

The Great Influenza, John M. Barry: https://www.amazon.com/Great-Influenza-Deadliest-Pandemic-History/dp/0143036491
Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences, John Allen Paulos: