The best secret to take away from this book is nobody really understands numbers. We can recognize 1, 2, and 3 at a glance, or 5 if we’re lucky. But after that, we can’t picture the numbers past 5, and would much prefer to know that the 2020 Australian wildfires affecting “half the size of Japan” and not “186,000 square kilometers.”
To use an example of communicating with patient about platelet count, we might say, “A normal platelet count ranges from 150,000 to 450,000 platelets per microliter of blood. Your recent blood work showed that your platelet count is 40,000. That’s way too low.”
It’s hard, right? After all, our patients don’t need to know exactly how many platelets are in a microliter. They only need meaningful landmarks.
A better way of mapping the landscape would be: “Normal scores for platelet counts are expressed in thousands, and they range between 150 to 450. At 50, we won’t let you travel. At 10, you’re at risk for spontaneous bleeding. You’re at 40.”
That’s neat and simple. Nothing more and nothing less.
Speaking of which, there’s one more lesson about converting abstract numbers into concrete objects in this book. It’s the example of understanding electricity consumption. To help people grasp the idea of carbon fluorescent light-bulbs, we can’t simply state that carbon fluorescent light-bulbs cost seven time more than traditional incandescent bulbs. We have to emphasize that they use only a quarter of electricity. Another focus would be the ease of replacement, because carbon fluorescent light-bulbs are expected to last for 7 years; that’s way better than replacing bulbs every year, particularly for those hard-to-get-to sockets. Now, how can we craft an easier-to-understand concept about 7 years?
“Replace your lights with carbon fluorescent light-bulbs when your child is learning how to walk. The next time you’d have to replace the bulb, your child would be in second grade, learning about oxygen. The next time, they’d be taking driver’s ed.”
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