Do numbers have a life of their own or do we give them meaning? How do data play a role in constructing people’s perceptions of the world around them? How far can we trust numbers to speak truth to power? The COVID-19 pandemic offers a unique moment to answer these questions. This book examines how politicians, experts and journalists gave meaning to data through the story of seven iconic numbers from the pandemic. Shedding light on a new dawn of data, this book makes a valuable contribution to our understanding of the relationship between numbers, meaning and society.
Author(s): B.T. Lawson
Publisher: Bristol University Press
Year: 2023
Language: English
Pages: 165
City: Bristol
Front Cover
The Life of a Number: Measurement, Meaning and the Media
Copyright information
Dedication
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
Data bound
Chapter 2: Data bounds are reinforced by policy
Chapter 3: Quantitative realism underpins data bounds
Chapter 4: Quantitative realism is mathematical and abstract
Chapter 5: Desire for data bounds underpins quantitative realism
Chapter 6: Data bounds are emotive
Chapter 7: Data boundaries are drawn within historical norms
Chapter 8: Critically engaging with data bounds
More cases, less theory
The life of a number
The pandemic in the UK
2 Data Bounds Are Reinforced by Policy
Trade-Off
Protect Both
Short-term vs long-term data
International comparisons
The problems of comparing death tolls
The problems of comparing Gross Domestic Product
What about data outside the data bounds?
Alternatives to Gross Domestic Product
Excess deaths
Beyond cases, hospitalizations and deaths
How policy structures data bounds
3 Quantitative Realism Underpins Data Bounds
Two metres
15 minutes
How ‘close contact’ structured policy
How numbers organize the unorganizable
Binding together the sciences
4 Quantitative Realism Is Mathematical and Abstract
Counting cleaning wipes
Numbers as language
The meaning of big numbers
One billion items as political rhetoric
Unprecedented crisis met with an unimaginable number
The itemization of Personal Protective Equipment
The four Personal Protective Equipment problems the figure tried to erase
Lack of adequate stockpiles
Inadequate production and procurement networks
Prioritizing the National Health Service over social care
Changing what classes as suitable Personal Protective Equipment
The power of huge
5 Desire for Data Bounds Underpins Quantitative Realism
Rethinking the infodemic
Where was the ‘mis-behaviour’?
Trust us: we are not misinformation
The life of both figures
Surveys and 7 per cent
Digital data and eight million
A strategic emphasis on quantitative realism
6 Data Bounds Are Emotive
Data visualization
Representing the experience of the pandemic
Turning death into a graph
Performing data
Performance norms in Sky News
Sombre performance of death
Flouting the convention
Feeling data
7 Data Boundaries Are Drawn Within Historical Norms
Red-herring of inaccurate projections
Vaccines, cases and risk
Normalizing health inequalities
The failed campaign of the ‘outsiders’
8 Critically Engaging with Data Bounds
Pay attention to media and communication
The media ecosystem
Interrogate and appreciate quantitative realism
Language, measurement and documentation
The tail that wags the dog
Examine how data bounds can maintain or challenge power
Public health imperative
Ethical purpose
Political requirement
Determine why some data bounds dominate over others
Political consensus
Historical context
Experience
A runaway train of meaning
Is there any hope?
Afterword
Notes
References
Index
