Sanne Blauw

Numeracy correspondent

Mission

I want to put numbers in their place. Not high up on a pedestal, or out on the curb, but right where they belong: beside words.

Now

Writing about covid-19 figures.

Stories

Biography

Illustration of different blues humanised animals holding up a golden object

In praise of doubt: we should be less sure about everything. Right?

Don’t use a Covid-19 dashboard as a technical solution to a political problem

The illustration is split in two, with a purple background to the left against a faint pencil line grid, and a black background to the right. In the centre of this split are three circles within circles of round balls, mainly black if against the purple background, or vice versa. From the central ball in the middle of the three circles, a red ball with arrows leads off into three directions, making those balls red, and on. If one ball which is red touches one to its left or right, that turns red too.

This is the most important number for ending lockdowns. How is it calculated?

What we know. And what we don’t

These are the three most important fallacies in the coronavirus debate

Illustration: Leon de Korte

What is ‘herd immunity’?

Deciphering the pandemic: a guide to understanding the coronavirus numbers

A photograph of a stasi spy photographed by another spy.

How a small group of activists put Big Brother on trial – and won