Oh man, ain't it hard to write an article when you have only a few figures to play with!
You've all heard about the gigantic tornado outbreak in April 2011, right? I've published an article about it even before the month was truly over (and had to update my figures a few times...). I have discovered two things in the process:
- it is hard to find reliable figures. In the end I used NOAA Prediction Centre data, but they are likely to change (even now!!), as scientists go through each single tornado sighting to re-confirm them.
- when you have only numbers, it's a real challenge to write an article that holds your attention. I don't approve of sensation-hunting tone of some publications these days. I notice it again and again - cameramen hunt for images of people screaming and being hurt, then in public say - 'Oh my God, I pray that they are safe' or 'I'm so sorry for their loss' and think that everything is ok. I call it feeding on someone else's suffering, you can call it whatever you want.
So no, my article does not include too much hype. It's rather dry, because it deals with mathematics and not with the human tragedy.
Consider yourself warned.
