Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences

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John Allen Paulos, Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences

Vintage Books | ISBN 0679726012 | 1990 | PDF | 1.3 MB | 88 pages

In a Scientific American column on innumeracy, the computer scientist Douglas Hofstadter cites the case of the Ideal Toy Company, which stated on the package of the original Rubik cube that there were more than three billion possible states the cube could attain. Calculations show that there are more than 4 x 1019 possible states, 4 with 19 zeroes after it. What the package says isn't wrong; there are more than three billion possible states. The understatement, however, is symptomatic of a pervasive innumeracy which ill suits a technologically based society. It's analogous to a sign at the entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel stating: New York, population more than 6; or McDonald's proudly announcing that they've sold more than 120 hamburgers.

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