The: Power Of Mathematical Thinking

The CEO was furious. He called a high-stakes meeting with the lead engineers and Arthur.

Arthur pointed to the factory's perfect 100% diagnostic score. The Power of Mathematical Thinking

Arthur pulled up the schematics for the final diagnostic machine. The CEO was furious

Arthur was not an engineer, but he worked in the loudest part of the automated assembly plant at Apex Robotics. He was the head of Quality Assurance. Arthur pulled up the schematics for the final

Arthur didn't use advanced calculus or supercomputers to save the company millions. He simply used the power of mathematical thinking to question the data sitting right in front of him.

Arthur stared at the data. He didn't see broken sensors or cursed even numbers. He saw a classic mathematical illusion.

"During World War II, the military wanted to add armor to the parts of returning planes that were covered in bullet holes—the wings and the fuselage," Arthur explained. "The mathematician Abraham Wald told them to do the exact opposite. He said to put armor where the bullet holes weren't —the engines. The planes hit in the engines never came back to be counted. The data was missing the most important variable."