AS a nation we’re renowned for our prowess in engineering and science.

Despite the industrial heart being ripped out of our country we still retain some of the finest minds in the world.

The majority of Formula 1 teams call England home for instance and British brains were at the heart of ambitious projects such as cloning, stem cell research and the creation of the internet.

But what about the average Brit, are the mathematical sides of our brains getting stronger now that we are bombarded with so much information and statistics on a daily basis?

Maths and stats seem to form the backbone of everything from advertising to our deemed success at work, even our social lives.

And multinational corporations love to sell the gullible among us things using dodgy maths and claims of scientific advances.

So are we now much better at picking out the bogus claims when crafty ad-men (and women) try and blind us with science and numbers?

I would suggest not.

A well known beauty company is currently claiming that 37% of women feel more attractive now than they did 10 years ago and that 77% of women feel more attractive when their underarms look good.

Well duhhh – these stats are hardly meaningful and were more than likely collated by the company themselves using a focus group they paid for.

Here’s another piece of dodgy maths that struck me recently.

A chocolate bar is now coming with 25% more bubbles. "More bubbles," I shouted at the TV, "means less chocolate!"

Who thinks of these marketing plans? Someone who didn’t get an A at maths I’m sure.

Another one that immediately had my "bad science" meter surging to melt-down was a recent advert by a global tyre firm.

The firm want you to "join the fight to cut fuel costs" and claims it can save you 80 litres of fuel if you buy its eco-tyres.

"Errr – over what period?" I thought. Having just looked at the small print on their website it emerges the 80 litre saving, which, by the way, is just over one tank of fuel on a large saloon car, is over 28,000 miles, that is, barely noticeable.

And if you want any more evidence that as a nation we’re not strong on the numbers front, have a drive between Junctions 25 and 27 of the M62 at the moment.

While the roadworks are in progress average speed cameras have been installed.

The clue here is the word "average". The cameras record your average speed by taking pictures of your number plate at the various points along the road.

They add up the times between pictures and divide up the total to get an average. If it’s above 50mph you might get a ticket. The actual number is a bit higher for reasons of error but anyway, my point remains.

But the number of motorists you see racing up to each camera and then slowing down to 50mph is staggering. Do they not understand what average means!

And another funny one is when athletes, particularly footballers, say they’re going to give it anything from 110% to a million percent. Umm, you can only give it 100% unless you’re a Siamese twin or get a third leg grafted on or something.

But I don’t blame footballers or brash advertising agents for this misuse or exaggeration of maths and statistics.

Our aspirations and cravings are not influenced by cold hard facts, they’re down to something much more emotive and the marketing folks know it.

I don’t run through a couple of algorithms when I decide which chocolate bar I want or how much effort I’m going to put in at the gym, not consciously anyway.

But what I would like is a bit more thought before mindless numbers are thrown up for our consumption.

A bit more honesty is all that’s needed.

If Wayne Rooney admitted he only gave 93% against Leeds United and vowed to give more like 97% the following weekend it would probably be much nearer the truth.