Overview

Never before have we attempted to measure as much as we do today. Why are we so obsessed with numbers? What can they really tell us? Too often we try to quantify what can’t actually be measured. We count people, but not individuals. We count exam results rather than intelligence, benefit claimants instead of poverty. The government has set itself 10,000 new targets. Politicians pack their speeches with skewed statistics: crime rates are either rising or falling depending on who is doing the counting. We are in a world in which everything designed only to be measured. If it can’t be measured it can be ignored. But the big problem is what numbers don’t tell you. They won’t interpret. They won’t inspire, and they won’t tell you precisely what causes what. In this passionately argued and thought-provoking book, David Boyle examines our obsession with numbers. He reminds us of the danger of taking numbers so seriously at the expense of what is non-measurable, non-calculable: intuition, creativity, imagination, happiness… Counting is a vital human skill. Yardsticks are a vital tool. As long as we remember how limiting they are if we cling to them too closely. Americans who claim to have been abducted by aliens = 3.7 million Average time spent by British people in traffic jams every year = 11 days Number of Americans shot by children under six between 1983 and 1993 = 138, 490

Full Product Details

9780006531999

Table of Contents

Reviews

'A great antidote to cynicism, and a sharply witty reminder of what is important in life.' the Independent 'wonderfully subversive' the Guardian.

In this cool and perceptive exploration of the way we use figures, the author attempts to show why counting can't make us happy. When, for instance, we try to assess an appropriate level of compensation for a damaged reputation in libel cases, what are the criteria? How do we translate the ephemeral concepts such as reputation (which Othello termed the immortal part of the self) into numbers of pounds in a bank account? A good deal of the book is taken up by a history of counting focusing particularly on the Utilitarianism of Bentham and Mill, so passionately detested by Dickens (one recalls the satirical portrait of Mr. Gradgrind and his obsession with fact), and the Victorian Commissioners who collected moral statistics. The Boyle carries his observations through to our own time, scrutinizing our attempts to quantify business goodwill or intellectual capital, and concluding that the old rationalism has given way to an ethos which includes empathy and the beginnings of moral coherence. While this destabilizes a rule-based system, it arguably leads to a more organic and saner way of living. (Kirkus UK)

'A great antidote to cynicism, and a sharply witty reminder of what is important in life.' Independent 'Wonderfully subversive.' Guardian.

Author Information

David Boyle has been writing about the past and the future, and new ideas in economics, for more than a quarter of a century. He is a fellow of the New Economics Foundation and has just completed an independent review for the Cabinet Office. He is the author of The Tyranny of Numbers, The Human Element and Authenticity: Brands, Fakes, Spin and the Lust for Real Life. He lives in London.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available