Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy And Its Consequences (John Allen Paulos)

Genre: Nonfiction
Year Published: 1988

With A Mathematician Plays the Stock Market set firmly in my mind as one of the greatest nonfiction books I'd ever read, I set out to find more John Allen Paulos at the Penn bookstore. I knew Innumeracy was his break-out hit, so I snatched it up and began reading it that very day.

The bad news: it's not nearly as entertaining as Stock Market. The good news: it's probably a lot more important. The book is less fun because it's not as personal; it's a little more didactic and less rambling. But the fundamental idea behind the book is, in my mind, vital. As Paulos puts it:

At least part of the motivation for any book is anger, and this book is no exception. I'm distressed by a society which depends so completely on mathematics and science and yet seems so indifferent to the innumeracy and scientific illiteracy of so many of its citizens; with a military that spends more than one quarter of a trillion dollars every year on ever smarter weapons for every more poorly educated soldiers; and with the media, which invariably become obsessed with this hostage on an airliner, or that baby who has fallen into a well, and seem insufficiently passionate when it comes to addressing problems such as urban crime, environmental deterioration, or poverty.

Whew. Couldn't have put it better myself.

For anyone who has a degree in, say, mathematics, this book is not necessary to add to your shelf. But if you're one of this country's many mathphobes, the brilliant people who opted out of science and into English or sociology because the quantitative aspect of other disciplines was too scary to you, or the average people who barely passed the minimum required classes at your high school, this book is crucial. Paulos demystifies probability and statistics, subjects that arise at least every hour in most people's lives, and tries to gently lead innumerate people to the light.

Math is important, and it isn't going away. This book could help you to bridge the gap between confusion and comprehension, and that should be enough to make you want to read this.

Recommended? If you've ever uttered the sentences "I hate math" or "I'm so bad at math," you need to read this, yes.

A Mathematician Plays the Stock Market (John Allen Paulos)

Genre: Nonfiction
Year Published: 2003

This is one of the most helpful books I've read in years. Paulos, a professor of mathematics at Philadelphia's own Temple University, gives his readers a broad rundown of the stock market, game theory, behavioral finance, and basic statistics. Although I am a mathematician by training, I knew next to nothing about the world of finance before starting this book, but I consider myself relatively well-informed now about the very basic structure of the market.

But -- and here's the great part -- this is the most enjoyable work of nonfiction I've read in years. Paulos is amazingly funny, and manages to cram in asides and jokes that take what could easily have been a primer and make it into a wonderful read instead. I found myself laughing out loud, something I rarely do while reading. (One quick example: "I thought news stories in November 2002 recounting New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer's criticism of . . . analyst awards were a bit superfluous. Spitzer noted that the stock-picking performances of most of the winning analysts were, in fact, quite mediocre. Maybe Donald Trump will hold a press conference pointing out that the country's top gamblers don't do particularly well at roulette.")

Here's the catch (isn't there always one?): this is not a book for the mathphobes among us. If you hate the idea of being taught something about covariance or chaos theory, skip this book. But if you're intellectually curious and open-minded, and you have a thorough mathematical grounding (say, up to precalculus at least), don't miss out on this one.

Recommended? If you can stomach the math, then don't hesitate!