By Sean Graham
We’re back from our hiatus and this week I talk with Molly Farrell, author of New World Calculation: The Making of Numbers in Colonial America. We discuss the motivation for the book, the creation of numerology, and how numbers exist within a broader cultural context. We also chat about their colonial use, how numerology coincided with slavery, and the legacy of how numbers were used in colonial America.
Historical Headline of the Week
UK Numeracy for Life Committee, End the Intergenerational Cycle of Poor Numeracy, November 3, 2026.
Sean Graham is a cultural historian, an Adjunct Professor at Carleton University, and a contributing editor with Activehistory.ca
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