Quick and cool, numbers often seem to have conquered fact. But they are also hated, often for the same reasons.
They can bamboozle not enlighten, terrorise not guide, and all too easily end up abused and distrusted. Potent but shifty, the role of numbers is frighteningly ambiguous.
How can we sour our way through them? First, relax.... Here is a painless introduction to the maths of the real world by the team who created and present the hugely popular BBC Radio 4 series More or Less.