Peggy Noonan advertises her ignorance in this opening sentence:
This coronavirus is new to our species—it is “novel.” It spreads more easily than the flu—“exponentially,” as we now say—and is estimated to be at least 10 times as lethal.
Why is it "novel"? It is a form of flu, and it is not unique in spreading exponentially.
Noonan seems to think that 'exponentially' is some newfangled buzzword. Not so. It has a precise mathematical meaning, and the Wuhan Flu -- to use my preferred politically incorrect moniker -- is not unique in spreading geometrically (exponentially) as opposed to arithmetically.
If you have forgotten, or have never learned, the difference between arithmetic and geometric progressions, Dr. Math has a simple and clear explanation for you.
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