Experimental Blog # 188

Comments on 2 books:

# 1 "Math on Trial - How Numbers Get Used and Abused in the Courtroom" by Leila Schneps and Coralie Colmez

This mother and daughter mathematical team describe 10 historical or recent criminal trials where mathematics, that is, statistics and probability, were seriously misunderstood and/or misapplied to determine guilt or innocence. These math subjects, statistics and probability, turn out to be far more complicated than very many people really understand. This results in that the verdict of innocent or guilty depends on the authority of those explaining the particular math application.

The conclusion seems to be that a jury of peers of the accused can not and does not really decide the case, when such complicated mathematics is used. It might be said that this book subtly suggests that prison is not the right place for all guilty people.

#2 "Thomas Jefferson's Qur'an - Islam and the Founders" by Denise A. Spellberg

About 20 years ago many people were calling Thomas Jefferson a hypocrite. Another way to put the matter is to question whether "actions really, or always, speak louder than words", as the saying goes.

It certainly appears that in the life and work of Thomas Jefferson it was not so. The author, Denise Spellberg, describes Thomas Jefferson's intellectual efforts, that is, his words, in overwhelming detail; and he still seems overwhelmingly intellectually impressive. At the same time, Thomas Jefferson lived his whole long life on the product of African slavery, and not once convincingly spoke or acted against this way of life.

Thomas Jefferson's contemporary, John Adams, was intellectually just the opposite on the matter of African slavery, but he is hardly remembered very positively for anything.