Re: [Phys-l] innumeracy

[Rick Tarara <rtarara@saintmarys.edu>]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "John M Clement" <clement@hal-pc.org>


> Numerically illiterate is not innumeracy.  Technically numeracy is the
> understanding of numbers, not literacy in particular areas such as
> geographical numbers...  While understanding things like the budget
> requires both interest in the budget and numeracy.  The US budget does
> not impinge on daily life so it is fairly irrelevant to most people.
> Also the population of a given area is generally irrelevant to common
> every day life.
I agree with Marty, we are just haggling over nomenclature.  I would tend to 
say that all those who answered that the U.S. population was under 10 
million people DON'T understand numbers--and that was 10/35 of the 
participants.  That only 4 people came within a factor of 2--only 3 knowing 
the actual number, it the telling thing.

Rick