Numbers saturate the news, politics, life. For good or ill, they are today’s pre-eminent public language — and those who speak it rule. Quick and cool, numbers often seem to have conquered fact. But they are also hated, and often for the same reasons. They can confuse not enlighten, terrorise not guide, and all too easily end up abused and distrusted. Potent but shifty, the role of numbers is frighteningly ambiguous. How can we see our way through them? First, relax … . We all know more than we think we do. We have been beautifully conditioned to see through numbers, believe it or not, by our own experience. Numbers … Continue reading Michael Blastland, Andrew Dilnot