Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences

Innumeracy

John Allen Paulos is the maths teacher I found twenty-five years too late

Innumeracy would improve the quality of thinking of virtually anyone

Paulos provides much in this book that is thought-provoking and informative. Markets can sucker even a maths professor. At least he can explain why

Paulos mixes high mathematics with the kind of stories that make you laugh

Taught me more about the handling of numbers in real life than a thousand hours of maths teaching

This elegant little survival manual is brief, witty and full of practical applications

John Allen Paulos is professor of mathematics at Temple University in Philadelphia. He is author of several books, including the bestseller Innumeracy which was a New York Times bestseller for 18 weeks and A Mathematician Plays the Market. In 2003, Paulos won the American Association for the Advancement of Science award for promoting public understanding of science.

Why do even well-educated people often understand so little about maths - or take a perverse pride in not being a 'numbers person'? 
 
In his now-classic book Innumeracy, John Allen Paulos answers questions such as: Why is following the stock market exactly like flipping a coin? How big is a trillion? How fast does human hair grow in mph? Can you calculate the chances that a party includes two people who have the same birthday? Paulos shows us that by arming yourself with some simple maths, you don't have to let numbers get the better of you.

A Mathematician Plays the Market

From America's wittiest writer on mathematics, a lively and insightful guide to understanding and predicting the stock market

John Allen Paulos is Professor of Mathematics at Temple University and Adjunct Professor of Journalism at Columbia University. He is also an author and public speaker. His writings include Innumeracy and A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper. 
 
'John Allen Paulos is the maths teacher I found twenty-five years too late' Sean French, Independent

Paulos offers a hillarious account of how the stock market both follows and defies mathematical principals. He offers an enagaing overview of everything from &quot;betas&quot; to the efficient market hypothesis.

John Allen Paulos

Mathematics is all around you. And it's a great defence against the sharks, cowboys and liars who want your vote, your money, or your life - as Paulos's latest book makes crystal clear

Ian Stewart, author of Does God Play Dice?

Making Sense of the Numbers in the Headlines

From crime figures to health scares, election polls to stock market forecasts, numbers make the news all the time. But are they accurate? 
 
John Allen Paulos, travels through the pages of an average newspaper, revealing how mathematics is at the heart of the articles we read every day - even horoscopes and the sports pages - and how often they mislead us. By understanding simple concepts such as probability, chaos theory and game theory, you'll be able to see through faulty statistics, stock market forecasters and conspiracy theorists - and make the figures truly add up.

John Allen Paulos

Praise for A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper

Mathematics is all around you. And it's a great defence against the sharks, cowboys and liars who want your vote, your money, or your life - as Paulos's latest book makes crystal clear

Books by John Allen Paulos

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