Stories vs. statistics: Professor John Allen Paulos

John Allen Paulos gained fame as a writer and speaker on the importance of mathematical literacy. His book Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and its Consequences was an influential bestseller and A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper extended the critique. He also has written on other subjects, such as the mathematical and philosophical basis of humor, the vagaries of the stock market and the quantitative aspects of narrative. “Who’s Counting,” his long-running monthly column on ABCNews.com, deals with mathematical aspects of stories in the news.