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I don't doubt many of HN readers use some advanced math daily or weekly, but I'm skeptical that more than 1-2% of the general population does.
by WillPostForFood 4y ago
I don't doubt many of HN readers use some advanced math daily or weekly, but I'm skeptical that more than 1-2% of the general population does.
- trashtester 4y agoI probably use math all the time. Even when writing the sentence before this, I was thinking in statistical terms. Your statement above makes a similar estimate for the upper bound for people who use math, itself a mathematical statement. People who don't learn statistics, are doomed to think in terms of anecdotes, or to trust some authority. Math is necessary to do a proper independent evaluation about a lot of questions in our world, be they political, economical or scientific. In the office, you cannot double check the work of the "experts", making it very hard to lead effectively, handing them all the power. In elections, those who don't understand statistics and science (that require math) are vulnerable to charlatans and demagogues. Economically, not knowing math means you have trouble evaluating risks and expected benefits of investments and exposures.