John Allen Paulos

John Allen Paulos is an author, popular public speaker, and monthly columnist for ABCNews.com and the Guardian. A professor of math at Temple University in Philadelphia, he earned his Ph.D. in the subject from the University of Wisconsin.

His books include the New York Times bestseller Innumeracy; A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper; Once Upon a Number, a Los Angeles Times Best Book of 1998; and A Mathematician Plays the Stock Market. He has also written scholarly papers on probability, logic, and the philosophy of science as well as book reviews and articles in such publications as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Nation, Discover, the American Scholar, and the London Review of Books.

Paulos has appeared frequently on radio and television, including a four-part BBC adaptation of A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper and appearances on the Lehrer News Hour, 20/20, Larry King Live, and Late Show with David Letterman. In 2002 he received the University Creativity Award, and in 2003 the American Association for the Advancement of Science Award for promoting public understanding of science.