More about “Counted Out”

“Counted Out” investigates the biggest crises of our time. Political polarization. Racial biases. Social injustice. Economic inequity. Climate change. And a global pandemic. All viewed through a previously unseen lens: math.

In our current information economy, math is everywhere.The people we date, the news we see, the influence of our votes, the candidates who win elections, the education we can access, the jobs we get is all underwritten by an invisible layer of math that few of us understand, or even notice.

But whether we know it or not, our numeric literacy — whether we can speak the language of math — is a critical determinant of social and economic power.

Through a mosaic of personal stories, expert interviews, and scenes of math transformation in action, “Counted Out” shows what’s at risk if we keep the status quo. Do we want an America in which most of us don’t consider ourselves “math people?” Where math proficiency goes down as students grow up? Or do we want a country where everyone can understand the math that undergirds our society — and can help shape it?

The film’s voices include the late civil rights icon Robert Moses as well as Talithia Williams, associate professor of mathematics at Harvey Mudd University and TEDx speaker of “Own Your Body’s Data,” Julia Angwin, investigative journalist and founder of Proof, Steven Levitt, co-author of “Freakonomics.”

Buffalo State University's Screening of "Counted Out"