Long lists of dreary calculations. Something computers and calculators do better. A genetically based ability, like perfect musical pitch. Most people seem to think this way about mathematics. "How is it that something so beautiful has such a bad reputation in this country?" asks Sherman Stein, UC Davis professor emeritus of mathematics. To help steer people away from misconceptions and the notions of bad teachers, Stein has written a new book called "Strength in Numbers: Discover the Joy and Power of Mathematics in Everyday Life" (John Wiley & Sons, 1996). "Mathematics enables us to think about complex decisions in an orderly way, not just by anecdote, guesswork and persuasive rhetoric," Stein says. He illustrates this with several examples, including the accuracy of psychics and the risk of drunk driving. In his book, Stein shows how to protect yourself from the abuse of numbers, describes the triumphs and limits of computers, debunks some mathematical myths, presents some surprising applications, and reviews a century of constant math education reform and discontent. Stein assumes his readers might know nothing more than arithmetic.