Words on Numbers

Why this blog? There are excellent discussions of innumeracy on the Web, e.g., Innumeracy.com, but I haven't seen any blogs which discuss innumercy issues on a continuing basis. This blog is intended to be a venue where I can vent my own frustrations at seeing numbers and mathematical concepts misunderstood or distorted and to express pleasure on the occasions when we can see an insightful analysis. Numbers can be fun, but they are important enough in today's society to be dangerous toys.

I hope that in discussing issues with numbers and mathematics I can try to make constructive suggestions and in some small way raise awareness of issues. The topics I hope to talk about range from the great social issues of the day, e.g., the profound and deliberate misuse of numbers on all sides of the Social Security debates, to tiny issues that gratuitously make an issue difficult to understand.

My own sense is that only a small fraction of people really feel comfortable and like playing with numbers. The goal here is not to frighten people into numerical correctness, but to share the pleasure of using mathematics in daily life.