Numerati: How Numbers Enslave Us and Why It's Time to Break Free

Numbers are one of humanity’s most important inventions, inseparable from civilization. However, numbers can be not only useful—they can be dangerous and cunning. They took over our world, made us believe in them rather than in words, even the most convincing ones.

The authors of “Number Lovers,” two well-known Scandinavian specialists in human behavior, Mikael Dalen and Helge Thorbjørnsen, explain how this happened and how numbers managed to enslave us. They discuss how numbers influence society, the lives of individual people, and politicians. The authors teach how to resist the dictatorship of numbers, how to deal with them so as not to impoverish your life.

Perhaps, the scientists say, in some areas it’s better to get by without numbers—and they recommend receiving a sort of “vaccination against numbers” so you can decide for yourself how to manage them.