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Numeracy or Enumeration?

The Uses of Numbers by States and Societies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 January 2016

Rebecca Jean Emigh
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Extract

Quantification is often taken to be a hallmark of modern society and science. This is perhaps no where more obvious than in social science disciplines, marked by often heated debates about whether quantitative methods illuminate or obscure social reality. Quantification itself depends upon numeracy, that is, the ability to count, keep records of these counts, and make rational calculations. Thus, numeracy, like its more frequently studied counterpart, literacy, is central to modern life, both inside and outside of academia.

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Social Science History , Volume 26 , Issue 4 , Winter 2002 , pp. 653 - 698
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Copyright © Social Science History Association 2002 

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