Show HN: Covid-19 Deathrate | Hacker News Reader

Show HN: Covid-19 Deathrate

7 pointssmccamley6 comments

https://corona-deathrate.herokuapp.com/

I had a recent conversation with a startup who needed a developer, they asked me to write some code to prove I can code. NOTE: I hate writing toy CRUD things... so...

Recent Coronavirus news was on my mind so I thought I would add a fun little project to the mix. So here it is.

This website is a little tool so you can make guesses as to the possible death-rate of Covid-19 is assuming you contract the illness of course.

The problem is, the numbers you need to actually make these calculations don't exist so it's all very hypothetical. But I wanted to show that things are hypothetical at this stage.

I am not sure how I will improve it moving forward but I have a few ideas. I'm more interested in what some of you guys think!

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If it's true that the numbers you need to make the calculations do not exist and you just pulled them out of thin air to make your web app work, then you _need_ to make this crystal clear on the page itself. There is no indication anywhere on the page that the numbers are fake, so as is you are spreading misinformation.

Yeah, I'm flagging this post. Incredibly irresponsible.

I understand what you’re saying. This is the problem with theoretical. I will make it more clear. I’ve only shared it heee, and am asking your opinions on it for that reason and others and I’ve made it clear here and on the site in the reference. I’ve found it equally irresponsible that people are sharing death rates without making it clear that it’s impossible to calculate correctly! So I think flagging it is a little overkill! How are we supposed to improve without asking the community!?

This app has the appearance of something that's very official and authoritative. It carries much more weight than someone quoting statistics off-the-cuff in a comment thread without checking that they're 100% confirmed.

If you just wanted to implement something that involved math and charts, why not pick from the myriad other possibilities?

Makes sense. There is some logic here. My main plan was to include ranges of stats as they come available and allow for people to play with the maths themselves so they can see what the rates could be if we knew them.

As there are already numbers out there that the press have released which are incredibly misleading as all the variables have yet to be calculated! I wanted to show this somehow too.

I am considering how to change it now. As the feedback here will help.

> all very hypothetical

Negatively contributing to an active crisis is a horrible idea.

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