[danmendes]

I suggest that author's personal experience does not give any insight into large phenomena affecting many more lives than the author's own that could not otherwise and more succinctly come forward without the addition of the overly personal voice into the prose.

This style of delivering information is called gonzo journalism and has taken over a large part of the media. What people forget is that gonzo journalism was initially a form of entertainment. The kind of prose that serves telling the readers about the Kentucky Derby is not same that serves the conveying of information in a large number of categories. This is one of them.

[nickledave]

So you don't know any people that are mathphobes? You are right that it would be nice to have some hard science to back up the author's claims. Maybe we should read her book. I'm sure it's basically "Fear and Loathing in Calculus".