Innumeration: The Structural Defect of Modern Rationality

This article provides an in-depth analysis of the phenomenon of innumeracy, understood as mathematical illiteracy, which is becoming a structural defect of contemporary rationality. The author argues that despite civilization's apparent reliance on science, a widespread lack of understanding of statistics and probability leads to a degradation of public discourse. The text discusses in detail how cognitive biases, such as the base rate bias and the Jeanne Dixon effect, facilitate the spread of pseudoscience and manipulation. Particular attention is paid to the impact of these deficits on the development of artificial intelligence and legal systems. The work draws on the thought of John Allen Paulos, pointing to the need to restore mathematical rigor in thinking about the world. This is a significant study of the limits of modern intellect in the face of data deluge and the algorithmization of everyday life.