Numeracy Skills
2. Interpreting Information
2.1. Mathematical Analysis
Throughtout this chapter you will learn how to understand and use basic methods of numerical and statistical reasoning in order to support any claims you may wish to make. For example, you might want to make the argument that women live longer than men by analysing statistics to try and back this up.
WARNING: the following maths may hurt your head a bit, but stick with it as it's easier than it may at first appear...
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Mathematical Knowledge
To make things a little more interesting (remember, it is the skill rather than content that is important here!), let us imagine a scenario where, in the distant future (say the year 3010), cats have evolved to the extent that some of them have developed a basic capacity for speech. Let us also imagine that you have transported yourself forward in time in order to study these ‘talking-cats’. There is only one island which is inhabited by such animals: Baal. A set of ‘raw’ data has been compiled by a team of visiting zoologists who have a keen interest in feline abnormality. It runs as follows:
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Table 1 - Baal
| 3001 | 3002 | 3003 | 3004 | 3005 | 3006 | 3007 | 3008 | 3009 | 3010 | |
| Talking cats | 100 | 200 | 300 | 500 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 8,000 | 16,000 | 32,000 |
| Non-talking cats |
14,900 | 10,000 | 7,500 | 6,000 | 4,500 | 3,500 | 2,500 | 1,500 | 1,000 | 500 |
| Total number of cats |
15,000 | 10,200 | 7,800 | 6,500 | 5,500 | 5,500 | 6,500 | 9,500 | 17,000 | 32,500 |
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The human inhabitants of the island (‘Baalanders’) are worried about this sudden ‘talking cat’ influx, and are considering a cull in order to protect the native non-speaking cat population, which they believe to be under threat of extinction as a result of interbreeding with their more vocal relatives.
The zoologists, rightly appalled by the idea of a cull, are anxious to avert such an outcome. In order to come to a reasoned decision about what should and should not be done, certain questions need addressing:
- What was the initial percentage rate of talking cats?
- What is the current percentage rate of talking cats?
- What is the overall percentage rate of increase in the talking cat population?
Unfortunately the data provided, in its raw form, is rather unhelpful, failing to provide us with the information that we need to answer such questions. To do so, it needs processing.
But how do we go about doing this...?