The amusing thing about this correction is that the esteemed columnist is also the author of a book on mathematics:
Let’s see … 3 plus 2 plus 1 plus zero is, er, 6; and 6 divided by 4 is … 2, right? Well, to one significant digit. Sorry about that. A little too much Christmas spirit. I really should stay away from applied. The correct TFR for our Four Horsemen of Godlessness is 1.5, and Sam Harris will have to engender three offspring to get the atheist quartet up above replacement.
As one of his emailers has already pointed out, due to multiple marriages on the part of Messrs. Dawkins and Hitchens, the more important rate per woman is even lower, especially if one were to take Bertrand Russell’s five wives into account.
But even without counting the oft-married Russell, the Four Horsemen of Godlessness average only .86 children per woman.