Many People Do Not Comprehend Numbers
People differ in the ability to grasp and use math and probability concepts, according to a presentation at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. To help people better comprehend numbers and assess certain risks, presentation may be vital, Peters said. The National Adult Literacy Survey, she noted, found that 47 percent of Americans don’t have minimal math skills necessary to use numbers imbedded in printed materials.
“It’s not that low numerate people are stupid,” Peters said. “It’s just that high numerate people transform numbers better. A lot of decisions involve numbers. It turns out that how good you are with numbers influences not only whether you understand them, which is how we traditionally think about math abilities, but it influences how we process the information into decisions.”
“Numeracy and format interact in comprehension,” Peters said. “With adjuvant, people with lower numeracy understand much less of the information, but even people high in ability didn’t do that great. With the improved format, everybody got better in comprehension almost equally, which means the low numerate subjects were helped the most.”
Source: ScienceDaily
Related Posts
RSS
