Dead people count

A Census is a bizarre and abstract science. Counting living beings in a given area. The US census puts its population by latest counts somewhere near 331.4M. Somewhere near is about as accurate as one gets given the complexity of this process. Some people do not want to be found.

I should know since I briefly worked for the US Census in part to understand the process. Now the blog is about a different count. That of those that died. In some tragedy or another, man made or natural.

Recent devastating news out of eastern Kentucky tells the story. Three major news outlets reported varying number of dead - anywhere from 15 to 20.

Why is that? It is the same when a plane goes down or some other accident occurs. Why the urge to definitively go for a number when you are not sure about it? I think it is mostly for ratings. Translation = more money. More eyeballs and more subs. There is also an undying desire to guess the cause of any mishap. Bring in some old fogey on pension that once worked for the FAA or ATF or some 3 letter agency to spout his wisdom on most likely cause. WTF!

Glamorize it, sensationalize it but make it a blockbuster. No one in the biz really gives a crap about the human story behind the headline. It is about being there first and sounding important.

Are dead people hard to count? Are primary sources lying about how many died? Is death a matter of perspective? Well he is kind of dead but who knows. What gives people?

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