View source for Biography:John Allen Paulos

{{short description|American mathematician and author (born 1945)}}
{{Infobox scientist
|name              = John Allen Paulos
|image             =John Allen Paulos TAM13.jpg 
|image_size       =
|caption           = 
|birth_date        = {{Birth date and age|1945|7|4}}
|website = [https://math.temple.edu/~paulos/ math.temple.edu/~paulos]
|birth_place       = 
|death_date        = 
|death_place       = 
|residence         = 
|citizenship       = 
|nationality       = American
|ethnicity         = 
|field             = [[Mathematics]]
|work_institutions = Temple University
|alma_mater        = [[Organization:University of Wisconsin–Madison|University of Wisconsin–Madison]]
|doctoral_advisor  = Jon Barwise
|doctoral_students = 
|known_for         = Author of books and articles on a variety of topics, especially the combatting of innumeracy
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|influences        = 
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|prizes            = In 2003 AAAS Award, in 2013 JPBM Award 
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| module = {{Listen
| filename    = John Allen Paulos audio.ogg
| title       = The voice of John Allen Paulos
| description = recorded July 2015 at [[Philosophy:The Amazing Meeting|TAM13]]
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'''John Allen Paulos''' (born July 4, 1945) is an American professor of [[Mathematics|mathematics]] at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He has gained fame as a writer and speaker on mathematics and the importance of [[Numeracy|mathematical literacy]]. Paulos writes about many subjects, especially of the dangers of mathematical innumeracy; that is, the layperson's misconceptions about numbers, probability, and logic.<ref name="MacNeal-1994">{{cite book |last=MacNeal |first=Edward |title=Mathsemantics: Making Numbers Talk Sense |date=1994 |publisher=Penguin |isbn=9780140234862 }}</ref>{{rp|133,213}}

==Early life==
Paulos was born in Denver, Colorado and grew up in Chicago, Illinois and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he attended high school. After his Bachelor of Mathematics at University of Wisconsin (1967) and his Master of Science at [[Organization:University of Washington|University of Washington]] (1968), he received his PhD in mathematics from the [[Organization:University of Wisconsin–Madison|University of Wisconsin–Madison]] (1974). In an interview he described himself as lifelong skeptic.<ref name="Podcast">{{cite web |title=Meet the Skeptics! |url=http://meettheskeptics.libsyn.com/mts-meet-john-allen-paulos |url-status=dead |publisher=Christopher Brown |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222062748/http://meettheskeptics.libsyn.com/mts-meet-john-allen-paulos |archivedate=February 22, 2014 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> He volunteered for the [[Organization:Peace Corps|Peace Corps]] in the seventies.<ref>{{cite web|title=NNDB|url=http://www.nndb.com/org/786/000041663/|publisher=NNDB}}</ref>

==Career==
{{Quote box
 |quote  = Mathematics is no more computation than literature is typing.
 |author = John Allen Paulos
 |source = ''Innumeracy''
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{{Quote box
 |quote  = The most amazing coincidence of all would be the complete absence of all coincidences.
 |author = John Allen Paulos
 |source = "Irreligion"
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{{Quote box
 |quote  = Uncertainty is the only certainty there is, and knowing how to live with insecurity is the only security.
 |author = John Allen Paulos
 |source = "A Mathematician Plays the Market"
 |width  = 50%
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}}

His academic work is mainly in [[Mathematical logic|mathematical logic]] and [[Probability theory|probability theory]].

His book ''Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and its Consequences'' (1988) was a bestseller and ''A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper'' (1995) extended the critique. In his books Paulos discusses innumeracy with quirky anecdotes, scenarios and facts, encouraging readers in the end to look at their world in a more quantitative way.

He has also written on other subjects often "combining disparate disciplines", such as the mathematical and philosophical basis of humor in ''Mathematics and Humor'' and ''I Think, Therefore I Laugh'', the [[Finance:Stock market|stock market]] in ''A Mathematician Plays the Stock Market'', quantitative aspects of narrative in ''Once Upon a Number'', the arguments for God in ''Irreligion'', and most recently "bringing mathematics to bear on...biography" in ''A Numerate Life''.<ref>{{cite interview |last=Paulos |first=John Allen |interviewer=Jim Stein |title=A Numerate Life: A Mathematician Explores the Vagaries of Life, His Own and Probably Yours |url=http://newbooksinmath.com/2015/11/12/john-allen-paulos-a-numerate-life-prometheus-books-2015/ |date=10 November 2015 |work=New Books in Mathematics |access-date=24 January 2016 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160115193717/http://newbooksinmath.com/2015/11/12/john-allen-paulos-a-numerate-life-prometheus-books-2015/ |archivedate=January 15, 2016 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

Paulos also wrote a mathematics-tinged column for the UK newspaper ''{{wipe|The Guardian}}'' and is a [[Organization:Committee for Skeptical Inquiry|Committee for Skeptical Inquiry]] fellow.<ref>{{cite web|title=Committee for Skeptical Inquiry|url=http://www.csicop.org|publisher=CSI}}</ref>

Paulos has appeared frequently on radio and television, including a four-part BBC adaptation of ''A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper'' and appearances on the Lehrer News Hour, 20/20, Larry King, and David Letterman.<ref>{{cite web|title=Paulos at David Letterman |url=https://math.temple.edu/~paulos/other.html |publisher=Temple University |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20010411001818/http://www.math.temple.edu/~paulos/other.html |archivedate=April 11, 2001 }}</ref>

In 2001 Paulos taught a course on quantitative literacy for journalists at the Columbia University School of Journalism. The course stimulated further programs at Columbia and elsewhere in precision and data-driven journalism.{{citation needed|date=September 2016}}

His long-running "ABCNews.com" monthly column ''Who's Counting''<ref name="Who's Counting">[https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/WhosCounting/ Who's Counting] at ABC News</ref> deals with mathematical aspects of stories in the news. All the columns over a 10- year period are archived here.<ref name="Who's Counting"/>

He is married, father of two, grandfather of four.

Paulos tweets frequently at @JohnAllenPaulos.<ref>
[https://www.science.org/content/article/top-50-science-stars-twitter - The Top 50 Science Stars of Twitter]</ref>

==Awards==
Paulos received the 2013 JPBM (Joint Policy Board for Mathematics) Award for Communicating Mathematics on a Sustained Basis to Large Audiences.<ref>{{cite web|title=JPBM Award for Communicating Mathematics|url=http://math.mit.edu/mathcomm/archives/john-allen-paulos-to-receive-math-communications-award/|publisher=JPBM}}</ref>

Paulos received the 2003 AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Award for Promoting the Public Understanding of Science and Technology.<ref>{{cite web|title=AAAS|url=http://www.aaas.org/aboutaaas/awards/public/public2003.shtml|publisher=AAAS|access-date=March 14, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130516041142/http://www.aaas.org/aboutaaas/awards/public/public2003.shtml|archive-date=May 16, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2002 he received the University Creativity Award at Temple University.<ref>{{cite web|title=University Creativity Award|url=http://www.temple.edu/provost/faculty/awards/research-and-creative.html|publisher=Temple University}}</ref>

Paulos' article "Counting on Dyscalculia," which appeared in Discover Magazine in 1994, won a Folio Award that year.<ref>{{cite web|title=Discover Magazine|url=http://discovermagazine.com/1994/mar/countingondyscal351#.UqCSc8RDsvw|publisher=Discover Magazine}}</ref>

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book |title=Mathematics & Humor: A Study of the Logic of Humor |publisher=University Of Chicago |year=1980 |isbn=978-0-226-65024-1 |url=https://archive.org/details/mathematicshumor00john }}
* {{cite book |title=I Think Therefore I Laugh: The Flip Side of Philosophy |year=1985 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-06031-8}}
* {{cite book |title=Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and its Consequences |year=1988 |publisher=Hill and Wang |isbn=978-0-670-83008-4}}
* {{cite book |title=Beyond Numeracy: Ruminations of a Numbers Man |year=1991 |publisher=Knopf |isbn=978-0-394-58640-3 |url=https://archive.org/details/beyondnumeracyru00paul }}
* {{cite book |title=A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper |url=https://archive.org/details/mathematicianrea0000paul |url-access=registration |year=1995 |publisher=Basic Books |isbn=978-0-465-04362-0}}
* {{cite book |title=Once Upon a Number: The Hidden Mathematical Logic of Stories |url=https://archive.org/details/onceuponnumber00john |url-access=registration |year=1998 |publisher=Basic Books  |isbn=978-0-465-05158-8}}
* {{cite book |title=A Mathematician Plays the Stock Market |year=2003 |publisher=Basic Books |isbn=978-0-465-05480-0 |url=https://archive.org/details/mathematicianpla00paul }} (British edition titled ''A Mathematician Plays the Market'')
* {{cite book |title=Irreligion: A Mathematician Explains Why the Arguments for God Just Don't Add Up |year=2007 |publisher=Hill and Wang |isbn=978-0-8090-5919-5 |url=https://archive.org/details/irreligionmathem00paul_0 }}
* {{cite book |title=A Numerate Life - A Mathematician Explores the Vagaries of Life, His Own and probably Yours |year=2015 |publisher=Prometheus Books |isbn=978-1-63388-118-1}}
* [http://johnallenpaulos.com/writings.html Potpourri of Writings]
* [http://www.nybooks.com/articles/23863 "He Conquered the Conjecture"], essay by Paulos on Grigory Perelman from ''The New York Review of Books''
* [https://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/16/magazine/16FOB-WWLN-t.html?scp=2&sq=paulos&st=cse Metric Mania]
* [https://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/22/opinion/22PAUL.html?ex=1078549200&en=1bbd1e85c6ec0af5&ei=5070 Measuring Bacteria With a Yardstick]
* [https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/15/science/the-advanced-metrics-of-attraction.html Romantic Crushes and Bayes Theorem]
* [http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/24/stories-vs-statistics/?hp Stories vs. Statistics, NYT Opinionator piece]
* [https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/WhosCounting/oil-spilling-gulf-mexico-bp-basic-calculations/story?id=10705575 How Much Oil Is Spilling?]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==

*[https://math.temple.edu/~paulos/index.html Paulos' website]
*[https://math.temple.edu/~paulos/booksandreviews.html Review excerpts of Paulos' books]
*[http://thesciencenetwork.org/programs/beyond-belief-enlightenment-2-0/john-allen-paulos Paulos speaking] at Beyond Belief conference, 2007
*[https://abcnews.go.com/search?searchtext=%22John%20allen%20paulos%22%20%22who%27s%20counting%22%5C Paulos' columns], "ABCNews.com"
*[http://browse.guardian.co.uk/search/Education?search=%22john+allen+paulos%22&search_target=/search/Education/Education&fr=cb-guardian Paulos' columns], ''{{wipe|The Guardian}}''
*{{IMDb name|4256703}}
*{{C-SPAN}}
*[https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/mathed/episodes/2018-12-20T07_19_14-08_00 Interview about Paulos' life in math]


{{DEFAULTSORT:Paulos, John Allen}}
[[Category:Science communicators]]

{{Sourceattribution|John Allen Paulos}}