Math anxiety can be a real barrier to sharing health and science information effectively. It can also stand in the way of receiving those messages the way they are intended. Since statistics and probabilities play such a key role in research and healthcare, we need to become a lot more comfortable talking about numbers in our work. Jeff Rosenthal, Professor of Statistics at the University of Toronto, speaks with host Krista Lamb about making numbers more friendly and interesting, pet peeves around communicating math and statistics, and the importance of examining bias at every level.
Jeffrey Rosenthal is a professor of statistics at the University of Toronto, as well as a Fellow of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics and the Royal Society of Canada. Alongside his technical and academic work, he has also written books for the general public, including ‘Struck by Lightning, the Curious World of Probabilities.’ By speaking about probability and randomness as they appear in everyday life, he works to demystify math and statistics, making these concepts more accessible and easier to understand.
Learn more about Jeffrey Rosenthal on his website, probability.ca.
Jeffrey’s books mentioned in this episode:
- ‘Struck by Lightning: The Curious World of Probabilities’
- ‘Knock on Wood: Luck, Chance, and the Meaning of Everything’
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