I’ve said it before, and it remains true today. I’m less clinical than probably anyone in the world. This is one reason why I was in constant awe of the healthcare providers I was privileged to support in my time working in hospitals and why I’m tremendously excited to be going back to work in a hospital environment in a couple weeks alongside these amazing, and compassionate individuals. That said, I also fancy myself as being able to observe what is going on in the world around me. When I read a piece or listen to commentary, my Spidey sense always starts to tingle when a very imbalanced proposition is advocated.

Here’s where I get a little conspiratorial, but I’m not advocating any position per se. I’m simply asking questions to which I have leanings, but of course no answers. I’m not invited to the Bilderberg meeting and I don’t deem goat leggings as a reasonable pants option.

Norm is not calling this THD by happenstance, but I digress.

Look at the picture below.

What does this look like to you? We don’t really know how many people live in the US, but Google instructs me to believe is it 327.2M. Johns Hopkins tells me that there are currently 4,661 confirmed cases and 85 deaths attributed to COVID-19 in the US. I tried to use my Windows calculator to figure the percentage, and the result had some strange “e” with a minus sign that I don’t understand. My brilliant wife will be somewhat embarrassed to see me admit that I’m also less mathematic than anyone else in the world, but I make up for that in other ways. Not unlike Larry David, I’m also an excellent dish washer. I then engage my light powered Casio calculator and I find this is an infection rate of…CRAP! The Casio gives me a nonsensical result with an “x 10” at the end and another stupid minus sign…Then a 5. Whatever that means. I hate math almost as much as I hate coronavirus.

After quickly abandoning this attempt to argue from a math standpoint the infection rate, I’m left with my observational abilities which I will tout as at least average after admitting my remedial math skills. In looking at the map of the infection rate of the US, does that look like it is a fraction of a percent? A fraction so small that someone of my limited mathematical facilities can’t even figure out, or does it look like you are about to totally win a round of Plague on your iPhone? Why the graphical representation in this manner? Why is Tom Hanks coming out with an infection announcement? Why Idres Elba? I don’t even believe Elba’s announcement. There is no way a virus could infect a man like that. Dude is on a Chuck Norris level.

Does anyone benefit from an exaggerated risk narrative? I wasn’t kidding when I said I’m not clinical in any way whatsoever. This could be worse than the Spanish Flu and the Black Death put together. I’d be the last to know, but I do know when contradictory stories contradict.