Barry Ritholtz, Columnist

Bad Math That Passes for Insight

Bad math leads us astray, making it hard to think clearly about what makes logical sense.

October 28, 2014 at 3:02 PM UTC

Barry Ritholtz is a former Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is chairman and chief investment officer of Ritholtz Wealth Management, and was previously chief market strategist at Maxim Group. He is the author of “Bailout Nation.”

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We live in an era of technological advancement. Whether it's genomics, nanotechnology or software algorithms, the world is driven by mathematical solutions to complex problems.

Yet at the same time, we are surrounded by what I like to call Bad Math. It seems as if the average person has little familiarity with the fundamental workings of mathematics. Statistical errors are rife. Even the classic error of confusing correlation with causation seems to be impossible to vanquish.