How to explain statistical numbers to someone with Discalculia?

Just tell them it’s much safer to travel by plane.

@Sneki2 GA.
But guess what?
I’ve tried that, it didnt work :-) (and by now I am convinced it never will).
Fear of flying is a serious hard thing to tackle; just numbers don’t do the trick.
My question is more to find out how to make clear the concept of big numbers, and their significance to each other, to an adult who has no grasp of it.
If at all possible, of course.
Maybe there are teachers around that can tell me?

What you are trying to communicate is the order of magnitude difference between an airplane and a car.

The best way to express orders of magnitude is to have four piles of familiar objects in three orders of magnitude. to show the relative size. One penny, ten pennies, 100 pennies, and 1,000 pennies.

“Each time you get in a car, the chances of you dying in an accident is represented by this penny. The chances of you dying in a plane accident is represented by this penny, which is in the middle of this pile of 1,000 pennies. Your chances of dying in a plane accident is like reaching into this pile and pulling out this one penny, and then it is about the same as if you were going to be in a car accident.”

Everyone has trouble with large numbers. It’s a human trait, we’re just not made to comprehend numbers beyond what we can manipulate physically.

That’s why @zenvelo‘s example works so well.

That said, the shortcut is to deal with orders of magnitude and the Powers of Ten video has been helping people visualize that for a long time. Maybe give that a shot?

But in a plane crash you can’t help it. In a shark attack you can punch it in the nose. Helpless and hopeless is a worse way to die. Unless you are a pilot. In a plane disaster your screwed.

Even people who understand the math are afraid of flying, because if the bad thing happens it really bad. Plus, being familiar with something (doing it a lot) makes people not think much about what they are doing, but when you rarely do something it’s more of a thing.

The way my grandma started flying is she hit her 60’s and finally felybit was ok if she died. Then she started flying around the world. A friend of mine worries still about being there for her children, so if they fly with her she can do it. I think a lot of parents, especially women, obsess about taking risks when their children are still dependent. Maybe find out specifically what worries your friend.

Another way to explain big numbers is to look at it like a percentage 5000/11000000 or quantity A is only 0.045% of quantity B

Here’s a link to a list of chances of dying. The chances of dying in an elevator is 1 in a million, similar to dying in a plane according to your stats. Very few people worry about an elevator crash.

As far as understanding stats. I always think money is the best way. Most people understand money. They know the difference between what $10 can buy, and 10 million.

Unless you are driving on the side of a mountain, no one is ever going to fall 10,000 feet from their car.

Oh, check the stats for jet planes, or commercial planes. I bet that’s much much rarer than other types of planes.

Difference between 5,000 and 11 million:

If I had $5,000, I could give you $5,000 every month for 1 month.

If I had $11,000,000 I could give you $5,000 every month for 183 years.

Someone who can’t understand numbers – at all, in the way that you seem to mean – can be said to be irrational (at least in this respect). In that case, it would seem to me that there’s no way to explain away the fear with an approach that deals with, respects and attempts to explain rational terms.

So maybe an equally irrational response is called for. Explain that if a catastrophic failure of the plane were to occur in flight with the person aboard, then that would mean that the world is ending (at least for that person, everyone else on the plane, and everyone who loves them). And since the world can’t end in that way and at this time, then it follows that the catastrophe can’t occur. QED.

Yes, that’s obviously irrational. But so is the fear. And if this bit of irrationality assists the person in getting onto the plane with fewer misgivings and an easier mindset, then what’s the harm? Just be sure that person doesn’t attempt to enter the cockpit or converse with the captain.

40,000 people died in car accidents in the US in the year 2016.

40,000 people died on Earth in aircraft accidents in the 28 years from 1989 through 2016

And automobile deaths are rising because of cell phone use.

Do they not understand because they’re afraid of flying; so numbers don’t mean a thing.

Irrational behavior cannot be talked to . . . .

Here is an article about the work done by psychologist Dan Kahneman regarding how people behave under conditions of low/high probability of loss/gain. When it comes to low probability of a large loss, people are very risk averse, which works to the benefit of insurance companies. I think it is also true that not being able to distinguish a low probability from a much lower probability is a problem that a lot of people face.

@Tropical_Willie makes a good point. Do they want to get over the fear flying? If so, then I would look at techniques for that instead of on the statistics.

That… doesn’t sound like a symptom of dyscalculia.

I am dyscalculic, and I’m not an idiot – Performing mathematical functions mentally is difficult, but this person is not a rabbit from Watership Down that can’t count beyond four.

And if they are, don’t let them borrow money from you.

Thank you, @all!!
@zenvelo Great way to explain it.
Going to use this for sure, in future cases.
@Call_Me_Jay That too seems to be a good way, very imaginative.

@CWOTUS Tried that, doesn’t work :-}

I thank you for all your links too; interesting reads!

It wasn’t my goal to cure the fear of flying, by the way, that’s a lost cause (for now); I’m sorry if you got that idea, and wanted to help in that regard.

@Muad_Dib I thought it was a symptom, but maybe I am mistaken.
Stands that what I described is something this person ‘suffers’ from.
Said person is anything but stupid.