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Tsunami coverage: math of the Times, physics of the Post.

Almost all the best coverage of the tragic Indian Ocean tsunami that I've seen has been via the Internet. From the videos everyone wants to see, to scientific explanations.

But it's also given my hometown press a chance to show off its acumen.

From the Times' writers we get a display of the math instincts that lead people to become, well, writers...

At least a third of the dead were children, according to estimates by aid officials ... The realization began to emerge Tuesday that the dead included an exceptionally high number of children who, aid officials suggested, were least able to grab onto trees or boats when the deadly waves smashed through villages and over beaches. Children make up at least half the population of Asia...

Although if children are half the population, then a third of the casualties being children would seem to be a disproportionately low number rather than an "exceptionally high" one, opines Opinionjournal.com.

Meanwhile, the writers and editors at the Post show off how much they learned from watching Bill Nye the Science Guy...

The quake, which measured 9.0 on the Richter scale, was caused by the shifting of geological plates along a 600-mile area.

This changed the Earth's mass...

Hello?

As the mass returns to normal, it moves back and forth, much like a church bell when struck by a tong, said Stony Brook geophysicist Teng-fong Wong....

The quake caused a shift in the Earth's rotation, as the change in the planet's mass altered the effect of the pull of gravity on the Earth.

But not to worry. The same thing happens in the summer and winter. It's harmless and it shouldn't last long.

That's a relief. But I'll feel better when we get our springtime mass and gravity back.