I sometimes come across stories that make me think "This is why people need to be more math literate!" I am a mathematician and I sometimes teach classes where I can bring stories like these up for discussion. But if I don't record them somewhere I will forget them.
I am looking for material such as news stories that demonstrate why math is important (not necessarily education related, but not excluding these stories either). Reporters of economics, science and related news often need to avoid a math discussion in their reporting in order to keep the story interesting for a wide audience. I don't think that they are necessarily 'dumbing it down,' but are trying to make it more appealing to people who are not interested in math. I hope to find those stories and highlight why math, science and technical innovation is important to the story and to our society as a whole.
About me: I am a professor at York University in Toronto, Canada. I grew up and went to school in various parts of the U.S. (mostly San Diego and WDC area). I often teach math classes 'for teachers' and students who want to become teachers and the topic of this blog is an extension of some of the things I think about for my classes.
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