Statistics

Just read an article at the Philippine Star’s website saying that of the 1,700+ cases of Swine flu in the country, around 1,400+ have fully recovered, which is a good thing. Shows that it isn’t as severe as we all originally thought it would be. But then I hear that the growing number of Dengue cases in the country has taken around seven lives already since January and, la lang, it got me to thinking that these seven deaths are all seven individuals whose loss is greatly felt by their families, but to the news they are just figures under the dengue death toll.

La lang. This is just a random post with me typing my thoughts out loud.

It’s just depressing, if you knew someone who is part of that not-so-good category of statistical data. Like that old lady who’s now known more for her being the first Swine flu death in the country than for her name. I’m not being melodramatic here nor am I spewing angst or complaints against the media or whoever. It just struck me suddenly that wow, I don’t even know her name but I do know she was an old lady whose past heart condition didn’t render her physically strong enough to battle the virus. Did she have kids? Was she married or was she an old lady whose joys she shared with her pet dog/cat/bird/goldfish/iguana? Was she even THAT old? Like 80 or was she relatively younger, like, say 65? Did she play the guitar? Her bio and credentials aside, I’m guessing she probably did not see this coming, probably thought this was just another one of those mild illnesses we all go through—she never would have guessed that she’d be the first victim of H1N1 in the country.

It just suddenly occurred to me that statistical data—if you look at it more closely and not from a purely analytical point of view, it speaks volumes. Like, take today’s swine flu cases—1,700 inflicted. That also means that at least five members of the family of the 1,700 cases have probably spent some sleepless nights worrying about that person. So, 1,700 x 5 = no. of people stressing over their relative/friend/him/herself (baka nahawa ako sa kapitbahay ko!). That’s like around 6,000+++ stressed individuals. What about the dengue case that claimed seven lives? The seven people, RIP, had at least a barangay’s worth of mourners (I live in Pinas, we mourn the same way we party—power in numbers!). So let’s say 50 people multiplied by seven is the number of people who probably felt depressed at one point or another from the death of that 1/7. If you want to look at it at a larger scale, just take the case of the daily death toll itself. Man, I’m depressing myself just thinking about it!

Of course, not all statistics report bad news.

Just look at the Guinness Book of World Records:
Most tattooed person, Loudest Burp (saya nun!), Tallest Woman, Most fingers and toes (25–an Indian boy with 12 fingers and 13 toes), First Man on the Moon, Greatest Distance Walked with a Milk Bottle on the Head (80.96 miles), Largest Toothpick Mosaic, Best Selling Copyright Book (Guinness! haha), etc etc etc.

Off the top of my head:

Number of babies born at this very minute. Number of people MAKING BABIES in the last two hours. Haha. Number of pizza flavors. Number of weddings every year around the world. Number of children who STILL believe in Santa. Number of people who’s already seen Transformer 2 (don’t count me in, still working OT these days). Number of people who got to watch their favorite bands in concert. Total number of songs (REALLY GOOD ONES) composed since 1901. Total number of times The Beatles performed “All You Need Is Love”—imagine the joy it brought to the tens and thousands and millions of people watching their concert at that given time, and the joy it still brings to the X number of individuals who listen to it now.

Guess the point of this blog is…despite dismal statistics depicting death, sickness, wars, lawsuits, divorces, annulments, etc etc etc, before all these “figures” became nothing more than statistical data, these numbers are also among those who experienced the ones above. Life, death, happy, sad, they all come together and I think it’s really just a matter of us choosing what aspect of it all we want to focus on the most. Happy or sad. Life or death. Of course, you can’t embrace one without at least thinking about the other, but oh well. All in moderation? I think what’s great about being a couple of braincells higher than primates, reptiles, birds, bees, trees (ngeh), is that we have the thinking and feeling capacity to choose our destiny—whether we want to belong to the dismal numbers in society OR at the other side of the fence.

So I guess it boils down to choice.

Which is, coincidentally, our magazine’s theme this month. Choices. hahaha.

Back to work, back to work!

Number of people STILL working at 10PM in the evening—who cares? I’m spending the weekend doing none of that!