John Allen Paulos (born July 4, 1945) is a professor of mathematics at Temple University in Philadelphia who has gained fame as a writer and speaker on mathematics and the importance of mathematical literacy. His book
Mathematical Illiteracy and its Consequences (1988) was an influential bestseller and
A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper (1995) extended the critique. He has also written on other subjects, such as the mathematical and philosophical basis of humor in
Mathematics and Humor and
I Think, Therefore I Laugh, the vagaries of the stock market in
A Mathematician Plays the Stock Market, quantitative aspects of narrative in
Once Upon a Number, and the emptiness of the arguments for God in
Irreligion. "Who's Counting"
... his long-running monthly column on ABCNews.com ... deals with mathematical aspects of stories in the news.