In engineering, we have a saying that encapsulates what you were saying above: “Don’t let ‘perfect’ be the enemy of ‘good enough’.”

Now try to get a definitive answer as to what are the current numbers of deaths in 2020 and a reasonable projection for the end of the year. Just try… I dare you.

One of the headline articles from
https://www.iflscience.com/
Just to have a test.

When in college, I was in favor of F-speak, and used it freely. But it’s a mistake to allow it become socially acceptable. I claim it is a significant contributor to more rage and demonization of others, when vulgar insults are used to enhance your signaling; on what you’re against, or what you favor.
WTF?
Yeah, I mean it BUT know it’s unlikely to revert. Tho a few million dollar lawsuit victories of those insulted with vulgar words as “hate speech” might rapidly change that calculus.

But then what about penis and vagina – which also make me hesitant to write in public? Well, they’re vulgar, but less polarizing. Didn’t young Elliot insult his brother with “penis breath” in an early scene from E.T. ?
https://www.iflscience.com/
Yes, yes he did.
Some new versions delete this?
Like new versions of Money For Nothing take out the “little faggot with the earings and the make-up”.

I’d like to see both a 3 yr avg total US deaths by week (’17-20), and last year 2019 separately, and a comparison to this year.

Those pulling the JH study should be providing that info.
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/deaths.htm
doesn’t obviously have it, but I’m not searching thoroughly (too many other blogs to read! or write long comments to.)

Death rate: 867.8 deaths per 100,000 population (as of 2018)

When something like that is blocked, it is almost never by me or by the server. It is the spam filter, and I don’t know what algorithm they use to make their decisions.

More than 99% of Italy’s coronavirus fatalities were people who suffered from previous medical conditions, according to a study by the country’s national health authority.

After deaths from the virus reached more than 2,500, with a 150% increase in the past week, health authorities have been combing through data to provide clues to help combat the spread of the disease.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-18/99-of-those-who-died-from-virus-had-other-illness-italy-says?

I used to get a bit upset because many folks revere Neil Degrasse Tyson as an Astronomy and/or Astrophysics genius; which he is not, but I’ve grown to appreciate his talent. He knows the material well enough and has a good mind, but more uniquely, he is a good communicator. I think he is a great fit as the Director of the Hayden Planetarium in New York where he can have an impact on young people. It’s good for young people to have role models in the sciences and Degrasse Tyson knows how to present a strong, public persona.

I believe his advisor(s) at UT Austin did not promote him through the PhD program because they recognized he was not the type of student who was likely to do significant research, or contribute to science as an innovator. However, Degrasse Tyson does contribute to science by inspiring others, and that’s no easy feat.

I was not aware he had done all that prior to the plague. Seems like it fully refutes my theory. I agree regarding his unique intellect. He seemed very able to get lost in long periods of introspection as a youth, which was off-putting to the adults around him who were hoping he’d be more useful in the daily tasks at hand of running the family farm.

He seemed a bit anti-social, which we currently associate with autism and asperger’s syndrome. Again, able to spend long periods alone, and “living in his head.” Also, he was paranoid of others and reluctant to communicate with other scientists. However, after his genius was brought to light and he received the public attention his talent deserved he was put in charge of the Treasury and seems to have adapted rather well to the public demands of civil service, including maneuvering to find his niece a suitable beaux. The ease at which he managed that transition makes me question that he had autism.

Very interesting fellow. Certainly one of the most incredible minds on record!

Rufus T. Firefly: I believe Newton’s intellect was so far off the charts, with or without the independence afforded by the Plague, that it’s impossible to say.

However, Newton was not so math-naive as you suggest. By the time he left London on account of the Plague, he had been going to Trinity College, Cambridge for four years, acquired a Bachelor’s degree, studied Galileo and Kepler, and discovered a generalized version of the binomial theorem. (wiki)

That said, maybe the Plague did come along at an opportune time for turbocharging his development. Without it, perhaps he would only have become a formidable, but forgettable, mathematician of his time, and not *Sir Isaac Newton*.