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Many (most?) people consider illiteracy – the inability to read – a binary problem: Either you can read or you can’t, they think. However, there is a far more insidious issue that passes largely unnoticed in modern societies. That is functional illiteracy, or the inability to read beyond a superficial level.

To give a somewhat simple example (I’ll show you more structured cases in this post), someone who is functionally illiterate may be able to read a basic headline and a blurb conveying the simple description of a traffic accident, but will not understand the piece itself that, say, analyzes the problematic design of the traffic junction or the political aspects of lack of funds etc.

Of course, the reason that functional illiteracy passes unnoticed is a sort of Dunning-Kruger phenomenon: People who can’t read complex texts – and only seek simple answers – are very unlikely to be aware of their own shortcomings. This creates a dangerously volatile mix with unpredictable consequences.

Functional Illiteracy Can Come Unexpected

Before I’ll give you some more data, definitions, and frankly shocking statistics, here’s a personal experience. Indeed, it was the inspiration behind writing this post. Of course I already knew about functional illiteracy, but I hadn’t realized how prevalent it is.

I had listed a camera lenses for sale on an online platform. The description was very short and (I thought) easy to read: a short paragraph describing the type of the lens – Nikon 85mm f/1.8 pre-AI; this will prove important – and its condition, another short paragraph where I explained how I had used the lens and why I was pleased with it, and finally a third paragraph highlighting the fact that the type of the lens in question was not compatible with all cameras. Frankly, I thought this last paragraph was redundant – mentioning the type of the lens (Nikon pre-AI) should have been enough.

I wish!

Functional illiteracy reared its ugly head immediately. I got a message asking if the lens was AI or AIs. Another message asked me if it was new or used. The apotheosis of functional illiteracy came when someone asked if it was a Canon or Nikon lens.

I just couldn’t believe what I read! The “Canon or Nikon” person even asked if they could come see it after they finished work – so apparently it was an adult, able to use a computer or phone, and who had a job. I was dumbfounded.

Degrees of Being Functionally Illiterate

Different organizations categorize literacy (and indeed functionality!) in different ways. For example, the OECD divides literacy into six levels; the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) into three.

Generally speaking, anyone under the lowest level of functional literacy is considered functionally illiterate. But the problem is in the degrees at or above, rather.

For example, if we take level 2/3 of the PIAAC categorization, we’ll discover that adults in this category can “navigate in a digital environment to access key informa­tion, such as finding two main benefits of one product over another. However, more complex inferencing and evaluation may be too difficult”.

And since an image is worth a thousand words, take a look at the PIAAC interactive map following the link above. If you do, you’ll discover that 42% of e.g. West Virginia is here. In other words, nearly half the population of West Virginia can understand “This pill will make your stomachache feel better and it has orange flavor”, but text like “Using a proton pump inhibitor may slightly increase your risk of fractures in the hip, wrist or spine, especially if used over a period of more than one year. Tell your doctor if you have osteoporosis or if you are taking corticosteroids” will likely fly over their head.

But it gets worse!

Functional (Il)literacy and Academic Education

If you check the map, you will discover some other, mind-boggling data about US functional (il)literacy, such as the fact that 9% of people with a Bachelor’s or higher education in Florida are at or below level 1.

This means they can at best “perform simple tasks, such as filling out a short form, but drawing inferences or combining multiple sources of text may be too difficult”. At worst, those under level 1, “may only be able to understand very basic vocabulary or find very specific information on a familiar topic. Some adults below Level 1 may struggle even to do this and may be functionally illiterate”.

How on earth, you will rightly ask, can a person write an academic thesis without being able to draw inferences or combine multiple texts?

How Is not Society Falling Apart?

If we remove the education filter, the results are even more shocking. The percentage of people at or below level 1 jump to 24% in Florida, 28% in Mississippi, Texas, California, and 29% in New Mexico. Perhaps some of those results can be explained by social factorsThe research report states that predictors that facilitated the estimates were, among many others, the percentage of Hispanic or African American population. It also clearly states that the authors have taken into considerations those who could not participate “due to proficiency-related reasons (e.g., did not speak the language)”. In other words, the over-representation of southern states is likely because of social factors (e.g. educational discrimination) rather than language barriers., but even states like Michigan display an unhealthy 18%.

While we’re at it, let’s also check data for numeracy problems (same interactive map as above). And so, we discover that 43% of adults in Mississippi are at or below level 1. Which means, they mostly understand what 50% of $200 means, but ask them to compare what will cost more, 35% discount on two products costing $23.99 each or 7% discount on a product costing $18.99 plus 13% discount on a product costing $15.55 and they’ll struggle.

Functional Illiteracy Explains Many Things

This is a dark subject. It’s a really depressing thing to realize that Socrates was right. Much of the things you see around you – take your pic, from flat earthers to vaccine deniers – boil down to people simply lacking the capacity to understand what they read.

And to lighten the mood a bit, here are the repercussions:

It’s all fun and games entertaining ourselves with people’s ignorance, until you realize the decision-making nurtures, relies, and indeed originates from such ignorance.

Or, to remember a wise man:

Click to display the embedded YouTube video