The problem of numeracy

Prof Andrew S C Ehrenberg

Lack of numeracy is due mainly to the way data are presented. Most tables of data can be improved by following a few simple rules, such as drastic rounding, ordering the rows of tables by size, and giving a brief verbal summary of the data.

The problem of numeracy

Andrew S C Ehrenberg

Lack of numeracy is due mainly to the way data are presented. Most tables of data can he improved by following a few simple rules, such as drastic rounding, ordering the rows of a table by size, and giving a brief verbal summary of the data.

People often feel inept when faced with numerical data. Many of us think that we lack numeracy, the ability to cope with numbers. The message of this article is that we are not to blame: the fault is not in ourselves, but in our data....

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