Friday, July 1, 2011
Interesting article about number words
I picked this one up via NPR - do differences in number systems make for differences in mental processing and memory? Sounds likely in this article. I doubt it can be reasonably connected to differences in math scores, however. There are a lot of layers of cultural complexity between number processing, schooling, and testing that this stuff won't account for.
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Interesting article. From personal experience, I don't think it matters what language your numbers are spoken in, but how you think. I work with numbers all day (accountant), and both visually and aurally see numbers differently from words. So, when someone says "Let me give you my number," and they start saying it, I see the number, not the word for it. It's a whole lot easier for me. Conversely, I could see how people have problems with numbers, but doesn't it stand to reason that their brains work differently than another person's brain? It's like the difference between speaking intelligently and writing intelligently. The Wife is a great speaker, but don't ever ask her to spell a word for you. She's horrid.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment, Joshua. Your language does affect how you think, but there are certainly differences in how people approach certain types of topics - the way an expert thinks is not the same as the way a novice thinks. It's qualitatively different. I personally memorize phone numbers by remembering their shapes on the keypad. It's quirky, but it works.
ReplyDeleteWhen I used to have to memorize phone numbers rather than saving them on my cell phone, I tended to remember the pattern on the keypad easiest. Sometimes someone would ask me the number and I'd mentally think over the pattern. Must be a kinesthetic thing. Now of course I'm losing my memory skill, but there's also too many numbers to remember without computer assistance, and people's numbers also change more frequently.
ReplyDeleteHi, Jaleh! Yes, things change more these days. But I still try to memorize numbers of those people I call a lot. The "shape" method helps a lot. Thanks for commenting!
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