Numeracy and common sense: Real‐world engineering

Whether you are dealing with computers or dealing with life, numbers matter—and you need some level of numeracy to deal with numbers effectively. Numeracy, or numerical literacy, does not mean remembering all your college calculus or being able to define every statistical term from memory. It does mean understanding basic concepts, being able to do on‐the‐spot approximations, and learning how to spot likely errors and deliberate distortions. While you need numeracy to work with personal computers and their output, you need it more in everyday life and library work. Common‐sense mathematical understanding is critical in these times of hype and suspect numbers.