Read the names on a memorial and remember every one of them had a favorite song.

A list of names flattens people into a number, which is the only way that much loss fits on a wall. Every one of them had a taste in music, an annoying habit, somebody waiting at home. Holding that in mind is harder work than reading the list, and it is the difference between knowing a total and understanding it.

The same goes for headlines and statistics you scroll past. Try picturing one person rather than the figure. Carrying all of them is not possible, and carrying one properly is not nothing.