Hello. This is 6 Minute English
from BBC Learning English.
I’m Sam.
And I’m Neil.
Neil, would you describe yourself
as ‘a numbers person’?
If you mean, am I someone who
understands numbers and is good
as using them and interpreting
data, then no!
OK. So, maybe like me, you weren’t
good at maths at school?
No, I wasn’t. Algebra, geometry, times
tables – it was all very confusing.
We’re not alone, Neil. But the fear of
numbers might just be in our heads and
we might have enough number
knowledge to get by with. That’s what
we’ll be exploring in this programme
while looking at some relevant
vocabulary. But, sorry, Neil, I’m
going to start with a maths question!
It’s thought the largest number in
the world is called a googol.
It’s written with a 1 and how
many zeros? Is it…
a) A hundred zeros
b) A thousand zeros, or
c) Ten thousand zeros?
I’ll guess ten thousand zeros.
OK. I’ll reveal the answer later on.
But let’s talk more about the fear
of numbers now. Of course,
numbers are important in our
lives but one bad experience at
school can put us off them for life.
‘Put off’ means make someone
dislike something.
What put me off maths was it
was not only complicated but very
theoretical – and not very
practical – useful for real-life situations.
And the problem now is, it’s easy to be
fooled by fancy figures that
we get told about.
This is something The Why Factor
programme on BBC World Service
has been exploring. They spoke to
Charles Seife, who’s an author
and professor at New York
University, who explained why we
are at the mercy of people who
throw numbers at us ...
Because we are primed not to
question numbers, certain people
have learned that numbers are
perhaps the most powerful tools
for deception... advertisers,
marketers, politicians, who try to
convince the public through
spurious oratory - have learned
that the one thing they can't get
challenged on is numbers or
challenges are ineffective.
Interesting words from Charles Seife
there. He explains that numbers
might be a powerful tool for
deceiving people. Many of us
are primed – so, told to behave in
a certain situation and in a certain
way – not to question numbers,
accept them as fact.
Yes, and this is dangerous. So,
when politicians, for example,
do good and effective public
speaking – known as oratory –
the information they give
could be spurious – that
means false, not correct or
inaccurate. But numbers are
more persuasive – they make
you believe something is true.
So, unless you’re confident
with numbers, you’re unlikely
to challenge the facts and
figures that you are given.
So, Sam, if I said to you ten
per cent of the ten million
people who eat meat have a
twenty per cent chance of being
five per cent overweight –
would you challenge that?
I’d have to go away and work
that out! As I said, Neil, I’m not
a numbers person. Even talking
about numbers makes
me anxious.
Well, interestingly, The Why Factor
programme explained that girls
are more anxious about learning
maths, but even if they feel more
nervous about maths, they aren’t
any worse with numbers than
their more confident classmates.
It’s just the fear that’s
stopping you!
Well, maybe, but one bad
experience can knock our
confidence and ability
to use maths.
Take comfort from Paula Miles,
who teaches statistics to psychology
students at St. Andrews University.
She told The Why Factor that she
thinks there’s no such thing
as ‘a numbers person’...
There is no such thing as
someone who is a 'number person'
or not. If we're taught in
the right way, then I think we
all have the potential to be a
numbers person. I'm not saying
we're all going to grow up to
be mathematicians but we're
all going to get to a point where
we have the basic numeracy
skills that we need to be able
to cope in our environment...
I feel a little better now! We all
have the possibility within
us – or potential – to be
a numbers person.
Yes, I think it’s about survival.
We want to develop numeracy –
basic mathematical skills – to
use numbers in a particular
situation that we are in. We
might not be a genius like
Einstein, but we know enough
to work things out.
I wonder if you worked out the
answer to my question correctly,
Neil? Earlier, I asked about
what’s thought to be the largest
number in the world - called a
googol. How many zeros does
it have? A hundred zeros, a
thousand zeros, or
ten thousand zeros?
I said ten thousand zeros.
Sorry, Neil. A googol is ten to the
100th power – so a mere 100 zeros.
I don’t think I’ll be using that number
anytime soon. But I might be using
some of the vocabulary we’ve
discussed today, including
a numbers person…
… that’s someone who understands
numbers and is good as using them
and interpreting data – not like us!
If you are put off by something, it
means you are made to dislike
something. And to be primed
means told to behave in
a certain situation.
The skill of effective public speaking
is known as oratory. And
spurious means false, inaccurate,
or not correct.
And when we have the possibility
within us to do something, we
describe it as our potential.
And having numeracy means
having basic mathematical skills.
But now we’ve reached the
number six – six minutes of English.
Thanks very much for
listening and goodbye.
Bye.