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Human beings have only one mathematical talent: to know which is larger between two
numbers. It is often said that it is required to have a genuine talent to master mathematics,
but this isn’t true. I’d like to explain this view.
Growing brain
・The last experiment revealed that the density of brain tissues is high in the part which is
most frequently used and you can grow it by training. For example, cab drivers’ right
brains are larger than usual persons’ ones. The right brain controls emotion, graphic
image sense and so on. Drivers are required to memorize maps, so as a result their work is
good exercise for their right brains. The original shape of our brains is almost same, but it
changes depending on how you use it. According to anatomical analysis, Friedrich Gauss,
a famous mathematician, had a smaller brain compared to a Germany worker, though
the part which had a strong relation with math ability was massive. It is not the matter of
size but of density, and this results from effort.
Right and left in mathematics
・The right brain controls emotion, artistic talent and approximate calculation like
rounding up large numbers. On the other hand the left controls language, rational thought and
precise calculation like multiplication table. The right brain is connected with the left
body, so the left face shows emotion, the left hand is suited for drawing. The left brain is
connected with right body, so a right face doesn’t show emotional expression so much and the
right hand. In my experience, left handed children are not good at arithmetic because their
left brain might be less functional than right handed students.
Psychological experiments prove this too. The most specific sample is a brain wounded
soldier. His right brain was injured so seriously that he seemed to be emotionless.
When he tried some arithmetic, he could calculate multiplication easily, but couldn’t round
up big numbers. His inability was limited to approximate functions and his precise
number sense was intact. Further experiment revealed that he couldn’t highly complicated
calculation like mental calculation which requires cooperation of two sides of the brain.
Use of only one side isn’t enough to conduct complicated mathematics.
Genius with poor calculation and a lightning calculator without mathematical talent
・Some mathematician was known as poor calculators. For example, some managed to
answer 32×8 by a complicated procedure; After dividing 32×8 into 4 parts of 32×2+32×2
+32×2+32×2, he summed all of them. He seemed to have no difficulty with
studying mathematics and even didn’t try to improve his skills.
There was an opposite example in France. An Idiot-savant, which means fool-smart,
was famous as a lightning calculator. He was a Down’s syndrome patient and couldn’t
make himself understood well, so his only friend was the calendar. It was said that he
had been looking at the calendar for ten hours a day in his childhood. Even his parents
didn’t know why he was obsessed with it, he seemed to enjoy calculationg it. He added all
the tandem or cross numbers, mutilple Sunday numbers, and so on. He started to show
his talent gradually, and finally participated in a competition of calculation. He couldn’t
understand difficult mathematical concepts like differentiation only his calculation
improved dramatically.
These examples show that the calculation talent has nothing to do with mathematics.
According to some neurologists, all mathematical talents are extrinsic. They
explain this as follows. A brain is a hard ware and a mathematical talent is a soft
ware. Mathematical talents depend on whether you can install this soft ware or not.
The meaning of installing itself is ambiguous, however there is a psychological jargon:
10 years rule among psychologists. It is widely accepted that it takes at least 10 years to
develop a genuine talent. Interestingly, most genius have experienced the silent
term during which they strove to develop their talent. These were often thought to be in
the simple slump, but they are installing.
I have no idea whether you are encouraged about your talent or not after reading. Now
that you know that enables you to be a genuine mathematician, would you like to try
mathematics again?
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