Knowledge Base

Terms You May Have Heard:

Epidemic curve: An epidemic curve is a graph that attempts to adjust the data of reported cases to their likely dates of occurrence. In essence, a patient may become sick weeks before it is reported and recorded. The epidemic curve graphs the date the patient became sick rather than the date of reporting.

Aerosols and droplets: Atlas mentions aerosols and droplets when discussing masking. Droplets are the bodily fluids that can be sprayed by talking, coughing, or sneezing. Aerosols are finer particles that come out whenever we breathe. Droplets were originally thought to spread COVID, but later evidence suggest that aerosols may be how COVID spreads.

False dichotomy: A false dichotomy is a fallacy where two choices are presented as the only options. In the context of the lecture, the choices during the pandemic were presented as either saving lives by locking down or saving money at the expense of those lives.