George Rebane
The significance of EVERY social problem/issue is due ONLY to the numbers that describe it – i.e. its dimensions and magnitude, rates of change, incidences, likelihoods of occurrence, relation to & impact on other things, and the alternatives, costs, and social utility of solutions.
In response to the deplorable government statistics on the literacy and numeracy of the American electorate and adult population, I designed and presented a series of seminars on numeracy that was sponsored by the Nevada City Rotary Club and given at the Madelyn Helling Library. This was augmented by the Numeracy Nuggets series on the SESF website (www.sesfoundation.org ) We all know what literacy is (although few know that our functional adult illiteracy rate is over 40%), but not many people understand the notion of numeracy.
Numeracy is the ability to understand and use arithmetic, numerical concepts (ratios, percentages, interest rates, time value of money, etc), simple logic, elementary probability/uncertainty, read graphs and charts, …, in short, numbers based information that is reported daily in the public media. Numeracy is the minimum skill set that enables critical thinking. An innumerate person is denied that ability. The late Arthur C. Clarke said, “In today’s world innumeracy is an even greater danger than illiteracy, and is perhaps even more common. Advertisers and politicians exploit it, intellectuals (self-styled) even flaunt it.” How many times have we heard an otherwise seemingly intelligent person say with some hubris, ‘Oh, I don’t do numbers.’?
Our federal government pretty much gave up on attempts to address innumeracy after its incidence, according to its own measures (more here), exceeded about 90% in the adult population. European governments recognized this scourge for a while longer, funding adult programs to combat innumeracy. Today, no government is concerned with such efforts, perhaps because innumerate voters are much more malleable, and all political parties are convinced of their superior ability to persuade the great unwashed.
Well, the power of the internet has again come to the rescue of those who want to be rescued. Mr. Salman Khan has recorded over 1,500 short online YouTube videos on math and science into a collection he calls the Kahn Academy. These bite-sized gems start with basic arithmetic and go into the heights of differential equations and linear algebra with everything in between. He also covers physics, chemistry, and elements of finance. It is a labor of love and free to all who are willing to relinquish an episode or two of Survivors in order to help us all survive. (short article here)
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