Models and COVID-19

Harry Shannon We all want to know how the pandemic will play out. Sorry, I don’t. But some groups are doing mathematical modelling to try to predict what will happen. The statistician George Box famously noted that all models are wrong but some are useful. His point was that a model is an attempt to describe some aspect of the world in mat…

“We’re Number One” – Trump

Harry Shannon As the number of deaths from COVID-19 in the U.S. climbed above the total in Italy to become the highest in the world, Donald Trump claimed: ‘Thanks to me, we’re number one.’ In a rambling press conference, Trump said: ‘Several other countries have tried to beat us, but they haven’t succeeded.  Countries like Ita…

A post on, you guessed it, coronavirus and COVID-19

Harry Shannon Some thoughts on the coronavirus and its impact. I am not paying attention any more to the number of new confirmed cases. That’s because, as far as I can tell, whether someone is tested is rather arbitrary: has the person sought care; does the person have symptoms; how severe are the symptoms; are there enough testing kits; h…