The answer is use Math. But careful simple algebra doesn’t model the real world close enough or maybe your algebra is wrong.

Linear extrapolations of non linear graphs, probability, how/when to play a lottery, scatter plots, understanding what the numbers really mean. Paying attention to the numbers.

Trends are not always linear. In fact they usually aren’t. Sometimes they will level off at some point. So in 2050 110% of Americans wont be fat!

We have a problem with studies. Are the results really significant? Often times not really. Oh and don’t play the lottery, unless it is calculated to give you a good return, which a Massachusetts lottery did for a while until it stopped.

The book was light heartedly serious and fun to read. Proposals for new ways to use votes to select the winner. I learned about David Hilbert’s 23 questions for mathematics and lots of other cool ideas.

One can create their own math or geometries that sometimes actually turn out to be quite useful.