The Math behind Flattening The Curve of the Coronavirus / Covid-19

The Taylor Series Short 6 years ago

Description

I rarely ask this, but please share this video!

This is a more serious video than my usual fare. But, understanding better how the math behind these epidemics work can help inform us about what's to come and what we can do.

A short bit of background, if you'll indulge me. I have been wanting to make a video on this topic, but things moved so quickly that each time I started a version of this, current events outpaced me. So, I cranked this out in a single day from writing to filming to editing to publishing! As a result, some of the audio is a bit messed up, and there are fewer animations and gags. But, the math is still good, so I hope you'll take something away.

Hopefully, I don't have any typos this time (disclaimer: I always hope this; it does me no good).

Extra Special Thanks to Brad Heller for helping me iron out this video!

My Exponentials video (with Thanos): https://youtu.be/727buOqGFco



I used Desmos for graphing things: www.desmos.com



Some interesting links:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/world/corona-simulator/
https://medium.com/@tomaspueyo/coronavirus-act-today-or-people-will-die-f4d3d9cd99ca
https://web.stanford.edu/~jhj1/teachingdocs/Jones-on-R0.pdf

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The Taylor Series aims help people love math. Whether you're a student in a math class or someone who has ever asked the question, "What was the big deal about Calculus?" there's something here for you.

Also, I named this the Taylor Series after the mathematical construct created by James Gregory and formally introduced by Brook Taylor ... and I picked this one in particular because my name is Derrick Taylor. :)

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https://www.patreon.com/TaylorSeries

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Twitter:
@TheTaylorSeries

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Music Credits (from AudioBlocks):
Intro music: Thinking by Patrick Smith
Main background music: Island Fun by Neil Cross
Outro music: Midnight City Lights by Neil Cross