John Allen Paulos Quotes

born 1945 United States

John Allen Paulos (born July 4, 1945) is an American professor of mathematics at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is a prominent figure as a writer and speaker on mathematics and the importance of mathematical literacy.

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Random John Allen Paulos quote

43 quotes

Too often, this concern for the big picture is simply obscurantist and is put forward by people who prefer vagueness and mystery to (partial) answers. Vagueness is at times necessary and mystery is never in short supply, but I don’t think they’re anything to worship. Genuine science and mathematical precision are more intriguing than are the “facts” published in supermarket tabloids or a romantic innumeracy which fosters credulity, stunts skepticism, and dulls one to real imponderables.

Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and its Consequences (1988)

It’s become somewhat fashionable to say that religion and science are growing together and are no longer incompatible. This convergence is, in my opinion, illusory. In fact, I don’t believe that any attempt to combine these very disparate bodies of ideas can succeed intellectually.

Irreligion: A Mathematician Explains Why the Arguments for God Just Don’t Add Up (2008)

A tendency to drastically underestimate the frequency of coincidences is a prime characteristic of innumerates, who generally accord great significance to correspondences of all sorts while attributing too little significance to quite conclusive but less flashy statistical evidence.

Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and its Consequences (1988)

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: John Allen Paulos (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.