Recent mention of ‘beautiful numbers’ in a coronavirus press briefing reminding me of two very important things about numbers driving progress.

• The metrics you choose have to be appropriate and objectively measured.
• Some things aren’t easily reduced to a metric.

What might be called ‘beautiful’ at a macro scale can be devastating at the micro scale. Short term GDP percentage changes can diminish personal difficulty that shapes the future for different generations. We’re humans and not just numbers.