Statistics: What they attract? What they distract?

Daily statistics of infection and death attract the public attention about a pandemic. The whole population becomes highly agitated. But the intense bombing of statistics distracts people from the basic common sense: A relaxed environment is most effective in developing a strong immune system. It is no surprise that societies with most intense statistical coverage on the pandemic are also the ones suffered most from the pandemic.

In highly financialized societies, daily up and down of the stock markets features prominently in news media. This attracts great attention from the public. But it also distracts people from their routine activities. In such societies, people’s capacity for routines is greatly diminished. They could not handle many children in a household. Fertility drops sharply. In highly financialized societies, population ages and society declines.

Statistics naturally gear toward the fluctuating and transient. They naturally distract us from the basic and long term.