Lost Links Vol. I: Check your math

A lot of the blogs I scan in Google Reader are great resources for journalists looking for tutorials, tips and tools to produce better work. I often use delicious to tag links and save them for later. But the problem is, a lot of times I just forget what I’ve saved altogether.

In an effort to rediscover some of the valuable resources stowed away in my arduous bookmark list, I’m going to feature a few of them each week in a series I’m calling Lost Links, a title that demonstrates the shameful extent of my creativity.

Maybe I’ll rediscover a link on how to better name a blog series …

Mathematics may be defined as the subject in which we never know what we are talking about, nor whether what we are saying is true.

– Bertrand Russell, 1901

Reporters hate math. That’s the stereotype afforded, rightly or wrongly, to the typically liberal arts-educated newsman/woman. It probably doesn’t help that people generally wear their inability to perform math as a badge of courage. Here are a few links to help you check your calculations — or put those numbers into context. Read the rest of this entry »