Thinking Harder with Numbers

This chapter “Thinking Harder with Numbers,” is the first of four chapters focusing on how more objectively numerate people think harder and, as a result, judge and decide better when numeric information is involved. First, they attend to and search for numeric information more than the less numerate do. Second, they think more with numbers by (1) thinking longer in numeric decisions; (2) performing more numeric operations, for example by transforming numeric information from one format to another; and (3) understanding better what they know and do not know. These processes generally result in the highly numerate making better decisions. The highly numerate not only understand numbers better, but they also have better habits for dealing with numeric and non-numeric information in judgment and choice.