Illiteracy in Mathematics - A Confused World Through the Eyes of Those Who Are Ignorant of Mathematics

Author: Paulos/Pu Baoliang (USA)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-04-01
Features: Why do even well-educated people know so little about mathematics? What is the cost of being innumerate? In his famous bestseller published in 1998, John Allen Paulos claimed: Inability to reasonably handle large amounts of data and probability problems leads us to misrepresent government policies, disrupt personal decisions, and increase susceptibility to various pseudosciences. The Mathematically Illiterate reveals what we have overlooked and how we can start addressing it. With engaging stories and anecdotes about the mysteries of numbers and probability, Paulos seamlessly integrates modern life's various aspects: from election campaigns to sports statistics, from stock fraud and media psychology to diet medication, gender discrimination, insurance, lotteries, and drug trials. Readers of The Mathematically Illiterate will encounter a series of surprising facts, a series of profound insights, and most importantly, a clearer, more quantitative way of observing the world.