Stick To The Science, Stick To The Facts, And Stick Together

… a great mantra, as important for quotidian matters as during this time of pandemic. It was invoked as the guiding light of the State’s Covid-19 task force according to Carmela Coil, head of the CA Hospital Association (@1:04:04). Our public officials have been scrabbling all day to forward practical advice and transparency amidst directives hewed from excruciating tradeoffs – earnings, childcare, learning, economic impact, public health, safety, protection.

As Mayor Garcetti says, the choices we each make to further social distancing, do matter. See an example of our actions “flatten the curve” here (@ 5:25). And an exploration of geometric growth (@ 2:34) that demonstrates its potential convincingly and explains the course of a pandemic. Empirically simulate these phenomena for yourself to comprehend more intuitively how quickly these numbers grow, and may be contained. Figure 1 below shows the progress to date of diagnosed cases in Los Angeles County.

A close up of a map

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Figure 1: Daily incidence of diagnosed Covid-19, LA County, 1/26/20-3/16/20

Growing likewise geometrically is a vast array of resources compiled by fellow parents and District staff to aid the forced homeschooling of so many. The “Science Mom” (assisted by Math Dad) who explained Covid-19 above has initiated a daily “QuaranTime” livestream (8am PST) that will make all of us (aged 7-12+++; I am learning a lot) smarter and happier.

Even while, it has to be said: there is no one out here who is happy with all this. Widespread, in fact, is a sense of grief among everyone, from college students forced back into the nest from emerging adulthood, to young children missing their friends. Everyone’s parents are in mourning: scared, harried, bewildered, angry, distracted, stressed out. All of which is best combated with a little more knowledge:

LA EdEx’s updated resource links follow ~

Governmental response including health information, public health measures

Data banks

Employment Concerns

Resources for families

    • LAUSD’s latest Communications; statements on school closures, resource center staffing, news links, cool videos on handwashing (though the Wildcats seem proverbially shy of the water).
    • LAUSD Hotline for questions from families (213-443-1300) and staff (213-241-2700)
    • LAUSD Family Resource Guide, Guía de Recursos Para Los Familias
    • A very full and weighty page of LAUSD Resources, including map and list of the 60 “Grab And Go” Food Centers; free educational resources from PBS SoCal, KCET and KLCS-TV; student and parent resources for instructional continuity, including for students with disabilities; online learning resources and IT support
    • The Los Angeles Public Library is open online!

Practical, helpful blogs and articles with kid-centered information, instructional activities and ideas

Please add your favorites in the comments below. We’ll include them in this running feature. Thanks!

2 thoughts on “Stick To The Science, Stick To The Facts, And Stick Together”

  1. Exponential growth simplified.

    Listed in order from simple animated examples that a child can understand to background information for educated adults with a little math literacy.

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    Four simple visual examples of exponential change: animated with adjustable sliders for rate, number of steps, and speed.
    #1 A bar grows exponentially by doubling from 1 to 2 to 4 to 8
    #2 For comparison, bars grow linearly by adding one to each step
    #3 Similar bars to #2, but growing exponentially like #1
    #4 This is the best example for showing viral growth: one node in the center branches out to surrounding nodes.

    https://setosa.io/ev/exponentiation/

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    Animated “tree” branching from one “trunk” node to 2^14 “leaves”

    https://www.shutterstock.com/video/clip-2602325-visualization-growing-network-people-number-doubles-every

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    Animated simulations of 200 diffuse mingling nodes gradually transmitting the virus from one node until 100% are infected. The article notes that a limitation of the simulation’s realism is that none of the infected nodes “disappear” i.e. die.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/world/corona-simulator/

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    Illustrated explanation of the common perceptual bias to mistake exponential growth for linear growth.

    https://www.hult.edu/blog/dare-to-disrupt/

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    Interactive, zoomable, exponential graph with parameter sliders. The simple default is y = 1 (2^x) + 0 . Useful for those with algebra-level math skills.

    https://www.desmos.com/calculator/3fisjexbvp

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    YouTube 1:14 video of Professor Albert A. Bartlett’s classic college lecture: “The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function.”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBtW51D_q2Q

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    Data visualizations related to the coronavirus

    https://flowingdata.com/

    1. Fun references, thank you! I especially like the interactive calculator. And the WaPo simulation (which is also referenced in the OP).

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