ABSTRACT
Words such as accurate, precise, objective, and logical derive their power by being symbols of an ideal information state from which ambiguity, ignorance, and prejudice have been banished. In our age mathematics is seen as the epitome of this information state to the degree that the respectability of a presentation in the conduct of public affairs is seen as enhanced, if not unequivocally defined, by numbers, statistics, and “mathematical proof.” For numbers and statistics this is due to the acceptance by policy makers and the public at large of one or more of the following views.
