Skip to main content

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?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Presumptive Society

Today's world is hyper connected.  I am not so sure what it means but you hear it a lot.  It is probably hyper but not sure how connected it is.  Sugar (fermented or not) is available in many ways than before and so getting hyper is easy.  It is probably more a threat than cocaine since it is sold legally. And what is this connected stuff?  Most people I encounter seem disconnected from reality.  So going back to this assumption that we are connected there are subtle and no so subtle instances of how brands and companies and middle men try to portray someone - A linkedin profile for somebody working for X years at a place advertises to the connected network that so and so is CELEBRATING X years @ Such and Such Inc. Do we know if (s)he is celebrating or cringing?  Perhaps a better way to portray will be - So and So LASTED X years @ such & such inc. Then it exhorts the readership to go ahead and congratulate them for this lasting effe...
2 comments
Read more

Of Jims and Johns

Here is another essay on the subject of first names. As in birth names. Or names provided to an offspring at birth. While the developed world tends to shy away from the exotic like Refrigerator or Coca Cola for their new production there is a plethora of Jims and Johns and Bobs or Robs. Speaking of which I do not think there is a categoric decision point at the time of birth if a child will be hereafter called as Bob. I mean have not yet met a toddler called Bob or Rob for that matter. At some point though the parental instinct to mouth out multiple syllables runs out and they switch from calling the crawler Robert to simply Robbie to Rob. Now speaking of - it is strange that the name sounds like something you would not want Rob to do - i.e. Rob anyone. Then why call someone that? After all Rob Peter to Pay Paul is not exactly a maxim to live a young life? Is it? Perhaps Peter or Paul might want to have a say in it? Then there is this matter of going to the John. Why degrad...
2 comments
Read more

On the go(zay masta) in Japan again

Cool cat the Japanese are Tokyo at dusk  My second visit to this land of the rising sun after almost a decade. Back then clearly I was wet behind the ears product manager and likely didn’t pay attention to all (efficient) things Japanese. But today I did and of course continue to be impressed. It is as much the obvious stuff like on time travel that is both clean and comfortable and all that which makes it possible. The impressive landmark and landscapes that these humans have put together despite their cramped (or because of it) surroundings and precarious geological conditions could amaze a novice architect among us. But it’s also the little things that someone had to think about which have a phenomenal impact on day to day lives that make the Japanese stand apart. Below are few random examples- 1. Providing a very fine machined wooden toothpick in every packet of wooden chopsticks. The said chapsticks are simply set on the To Go counter of any food vendor/ convenience store wher...
Post a Comment
Read more