there’s a general incuriosity about material facts that often comes with this innumeracy: said journalists have no idea how much of anything being discussed is present or possible
November 8, 2025 at 7:00 AM
there’s a general incuriosity about material facts that often comes with this innumeracy: said journalists have no idea how much of anything being discussed is present or possible
Between chatgpt and the complete destruction of the US educational system on every single level, this illiteracy and innumeracy will only get worse.
Now, right now, is the easiest it will ever be to get people to understand that $100 is a bigger number than $50.
Now, right now, is the easiest it will ever be to get people to understand that $100 is a bigger number than $50.
November 11, 2025 at 7:48 AM
Between chatgpt and the complete destruction of the US educational system on every single level, this illiteracy and innumeracy will only get worse.
Now, right now, is the easiest it will ever be to get people to understand that $100 is a bigger number than $50.
Now, right now, is the easiest it will ever be to get people to understand that $100 is a bigger number than $50.
I was about to post about this and then I wondered, has Andy already covered this innumeracy? And yep, he has
I did some quick digging on the Waymo cat situation andymasley.substack.com/p/please-ple...
November 7, 2025 at 2:54 AM
I was about to post about this and then I wondered, has Andy already covered this innumeracy? And yep, he has
It’s fundamental innumeracy. Tens of millions of people in the United States can be destitute and that would still leave over 300 million other people. And if you assume that a decent chunk of the destitute does not vote, you’re talking about very limited numbers in the national election.
November 8, 2025 at 7:38 PM
It’s fundamental innumeracy. Tens of millions of people in the United States can be destitute and that would still leave over 300 million other people. And if you assume that a decent chunk of the destitute does not vote, you’re talking about very limited numbers in the national election.
Which rigor guys?
Kronos, here's what I'm running up against:
A very loud cohort of ostensibly left-wing people who reject any chart or graph that isn't Doomer enough as capitalist propaganda. Widespread innumeracy leading to bad promises on the campaign trail and poor allocation of resources.
Kronos, here's what I'm running up against:
A very loud cohort of ostensibly left-wing people who reject any chart or graph that isn't Doomer enough as capitalist propaganda. Widespread innumeracy leading to bad promises on the campaign trail and poor allocation of resources.
November 9, 2025 at 7:54 PM
Which rigor guys?
Kronos, here's what I'm running up against:
A very loud cohort of ostensibly left-wing people who reject any chart or graph that isn't Doomer enough as capitalist propaganda. Widespread innumeracy leading to bad promises on the campaign trail and poor allocation of resources.
Kronos, here's what I'm running up against:
A very loud cohort of ostensibly left-wing people who reject any chart or graph that isn't Doomer enough as capitalist propaganda. Widespread innumeracy leading to bad promises on the campaign trail and poor allocation of resources.
#Innumeracy, again.
C) Now, even if you pretend Walmart's 2025 package is not smaller (and a couple items ~downgraded), 2025's does NOT cost 25% less than 2024's. Rather – and again, only if you pretend 2025's is the same as 2024's – 2025's is 20% less.*
* – $40 is 20% < $50 (even though $50 is 25% > $40) 😀👍
2/
* – $40 is 20% < $50 (even though $50 is 25% > $40) 😀👍
2/
November 8, 2025 at 7:00 AM
#Innumeracy, again.
Mathematics is a language. But innumeracy is also a language and our president is fluent.
It's not just that he exaggerates, lies, and says things that make no sense when talking about numbers "often" no this is something deeper.
He is deeply committed to *never* speaking about any statistic […]
It's not just that he exaggerates, lies, and says things that make no sense when talking about numbers "often" no this is something deeper.
He is deeply committed to *never* speaking about any statistic […]
Original post on sauropods.win
sauropods.win
November 8, 2025 at 12:09 PM
Mathematics is a language. But innumeracy is also a language and our president is fluent.
It's not just that he exaggerates, lies, and says things that make no sense when talking about numbers "often" no this is something deeper.
He is deeply committed to *never* speaking about any statistic […]
It's not just that he exaggerates, lies, and says things that make no sense when talking about numbers "often" no this is something deeper.
He is deeply committed to *never* speaking about any statistic […]
Kinda the same family of social innumeracy that makes people find it shocking when they learn that Roblox is as big as Steam.
It’s so easy to exist in a context where your own experience is viewed as the norm, and not see past it.
In fact we probably seek out those contexts
It’s so easy to exist in a context where your own experience is viewed as the norm, and not see past it.
In fact we probably seek out those contexts
November 5, 2025 at 4:17 AM
Kinda the same family of social innumeracy that makes people find it shocking when they learn that Roblox is as big as Steam.
It’s so easy to exist in a context where your own experience is viewed as the norm, and not see past it.
In fact we probably seek out those contexts
It’s so easy to exist in a context where your own experience is viewed as the norm, and not see past it.
In fact we probably seek out those contexts
His innumeracy is unmatched.
November 5, 2025 at 11:47 PM
His innumeracy is unmatched.
I don't know if there's a proven link between early calculator dependence and innumeracy but it wouldn't shock me. I hardly ever do math by hand anymore (I do it in my head if I can and use a computer if I can't) but do occasionally resort to putting numbers on paper to conceptualize the process.
November 3, 2025 at 6:29 PM
I don't know if there's a proven link between early calculator dependence and innumeracy but it wouldn't shock me. I hardly ever do math by hand anymore (I do it in my head if I can and use a computer if I can't) but do occasionally resort to putting numbers on paper to conceptualize the process.
i really hate how much political commentary is just explaining what the words billion and trillion mean over and over and over again
like this is CRUCIAL, very very important stuff. innumeracy is a PROBLEM.
nobody should be so rich you need scientific fucking notation to explain how rich they are
like this is CRUCIAL, very very important stuff. innumeracy is a PROBLEM.
nobody should be so rich you need scientific fucking notation to explain how rich they are
November 7, 2025 at 1:23 PM
i really hate how much political commentary is just explaining what the words billion and trillion mean over and over and over again
like this is CRUCIAL, very very important stuff. innumeracy is a PROBLEM.
nobody should be so rich you need scientific fucking notation to explain how rich they are
like this is CRUCIAL, very very important stuff. innumeracy is a PROBLEM.
nobody should be so rich you need scientific fucking notation to explain how rich they are
It's relying on the same innumeracy that had Canadian banks switch from reporting their quarterly profits in Billions to Thousand Millions. Having $4 Billion in profit per quarter sounds way greedier than having $4000 million in profit per quarter. Like me saying I'm sixty-ten years old. 🙄😏
November 10, 2025 at 12:39 PM
It's relying on the same innumeracy that had Canadian banks switch from reporting their quarterly profits in Billions to Thousand Millions. Having $4 Billion in profit per quarter sounds way greedier than having $4000 million in profit per quarter. Like me saying I'm sixty-ten years old. 🙄😏
I do think we need to force a collective update toward the idea that political pundits (and dem consultants) are active sources of political disinformation driven by varying combinations of innumeracy, social media and information bubbles, participatory make-believe, and malice—and plan accordingly
November 5, 2025 at 3:11 PM
I do think we need to force a collective update toward the idea that political pundits (and dem consultants) are active sources of political disinformation driven by varying combinations of innumeracy, social media and information bubbles, participatory make-believe, and malice—and plan accordingly
I guess tracking the sub-prime bubble needed a minimal understanding of the underlying financial setup, and certainly innumeracy couldn't get you by. Examining it was also not too cool, while the AI bubble discourse can generate a lot of clicks for basically no effort -- it's a bubble at many levels
November 1, 2025 at 6:10 PM
I guess tracking the sub-prime bubble needed a minimal understanding of the underlying financial setup, and certainly innumeracy couldn't get you by. Examining it was also not too cool, while the AI bubble discourse can generate a lot of clicks for basically no effort -- it's a bubble at many levels
american innumeracy unencumbered once again. begging Dem politicians to just use an income number, not "the top 1%".
October 29, 2025 at 11:14 PM
american innumeracy unencumbered once again. begging Dem politicians to just use an income number, not "the top 1%".
Good god. The sheer innumeracy in that story makes my hair curl in horror.
October 30, 2025 at 5:11 AM
Good god. The sheer innumeracy in that story makes my hair curl in horror.
Innumeracy, in general, is a huge problem.
October 29, 2025 at 11:17 PM
Innumeracy, in general, is a huge problem.
In seriousness, vast American innumeracy is a legitimately existential problem. We have massive propaganda apparatuses, true, but a non-trivial proportion of people who don’t know basic fractions is actually a huge threat to liberal democracy. You simply can’t think about policy in any serious way
October 30, 2025 at 8:01 PM
In seriousness, vast American innumeracy is a legitimately existential problem. We have massive propaganda apparatuses, true, but a non-trivial proportion of people who don’t know basic fractions is actually a huge threat to liberal democracy. You simply can’t think about policy in any serious way
i mean, there’s money and percentages involved…we should’ve all expected confusion and delusion. 🤣
innumeracy is in even more dire straits than illiteracy in this country.
innumeracy is in even more dire straits than illiteracy in this country.
I always get drawn back to Al Gore telling voters that he’d only raise taxes on the top 1% and then after the election a poll showed that something like 20% of voters thought they were in the top 1% and another 20% thought they would be in the next five years. Just a total tragic disconnect.
Maaaaan, this. So much this. Every time there's any kind of actual in-depth survey we find that the American people are *abysmally* ignorant about even the most basic political facts, but the pundit class just immediately forgets & proceeds with political analysis based on subtle policy differences.
October 29, 2025 at 11:30 PM
i mean, there’s money and percentages involved…we should’ve all expected confusion and delusion. 🤣
innumeracy is in even more dire straits than illiteracy in this country.
innumeracy is in even more dire straits than illiteracy in this country.
And yet…in a survey THE SAME YEAR (2022) 67% of whites reported having ZERO Black friends in their friend networks, this would be much harder to maintain if Blacks were really 41% of the population. This country contains multitudes…of innumeracy. Link to the friend study: prri.org/press-releas...
PRRI Survey: Friendship Networks of White Americans Continue to Be 90% White
PRRI Survey: Friendship Networks of White Americans Continue to Be 90% White More Diverse Friendship Networks Linked to Higher Support for Religious Pluralism Among Americans Washington, DC (May 24…
prri.org
October 30, 2025 at 12:30 PM
And yet…in a survey THE SAME YEAR (2022) 67% of whites reported having ZERO Black friends in their friend networks, this would be much harder to maintain if Blacks were really 41% of the population. This country contains multitudes…of innumeracy. Link to the friend study: prri.org/press-releas...
The status threat for “Real (read: White Southern or Midwestern) Americans”, combined with rank innumeracy & an ungodly amount of ignorance/stupidity combines into a powerful force tearing America apart, & the overlords of our screens are happy to take advantage & make lots of money along the way
October 30, 2025 at 1:02 PM
The status threat for “Real (read: White Southern or Midwestern) Americans”, combined with rank innumeracy & an ungodly amount of ignorance/stupidity combines into a powerful force tearing America apart, & the overlords of our screens are happy to take advantage & make lots of money along the way
Just FYI
Innumeracy is the inability to understand or work with basic mathematical concepts, especially numbers and chance.
Innumeracy is the inability to understand or work with basic mathematical concepts, especially numbers and chance.
i mean, there’s money and percentages involved…we should’ve all expected confusion and delusion. 🤣
innumeracy is in even more dire straits than illiteracy in this country.
innumeracy is in even more dire straits than illiteracy in this country.
I always get drawn back to Al Gore telling voters that he’d only raise taxes on the top 1% and then after the election a poll showed that something like 20% of voters thought they were in the top 1% and another 20% thought they would be in the next five years. Just a total tragic disconnect.
October 29, 2025 at 11:59 PM
Just FYI
Innumeracy is the inability to understand or work with basic mathematical concepts, especially numbers and chance.
Innumeracy is the inability to understand or work with basic mathematical concepts, especially numbers and chance.
Classic example. American innumeracy is a plague.
Yet "everyone" just goes 🤭 like it's cute/funny they suck at basic math and/or they've made no significant effort to remediate that.
Yet "everyone" just goes 🤭 like it's cute/funny they suck at basic math and/or they've made no significant effort to remediate that.
I can’t stress this enough: you cannot understand politics without reading this paragraph about why there’s no such thing as a 1/3rd pound hamburger
October 30, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Classic example. American innumeracy is a plague.
Yet "everyone" just goes 🤭 like it's cute/funny they suck at basic math and/or they've made no significant effort to remediate that.
Yet "everyone" just goes 🤭 like it's cute/funny they suck at basic math and/or they've made no significant effort to remediate that.
Newsmax's Rob Finnerty suffers from the same innumeracy as his hero, Donald Trump
October 29, 2025 at 8:41 PM
Newsmax's Rob Finnerty suffers from the same innumeracy as his hero, Donald Trump
For anyone who’s not strong at math (since USA education deliberately cultivates innumeracy because they don’t want us to understand anything beyond our jobs):
If Amazon were to distribute last year’s profits directly to the workers they plan to lay off, that would be $2 MILLION for EACH worker.
If Amazon were to distribute last year’s profits directly to the workers they plan to lay off, that would be $2 MILLION for EACH worker.
Amazon is planning to cut as many as 30,000 employees, starting tomorrow.
The corporate giant made nearly $60 billion in profits last year.
The corporate giant made nearly $60 billion in profits last year.
October 27, 2025 at 10:49 PM
For anyone who’s not strong at math (since USA education deliberately cultivates innumeracy because they don’t want us to understand anything beyond our jobs):
If Amazon were to distribute last year’s profits directly to the workers they plan to lay off, that would be $2 MILLION for EACH worker.
If Amazon were to distribute last year’s profits directly to the workers they plan to lay off, that would be $2 MILLION for EACH worker.