"The Universe is Mathematical" - many Mathematicians and Mathematics teachers.
During my many contemplations about math learning - I took this common saying to the next level, trying to understand why failing at math is so upsetting for so many students.
If the Universe is mathematical in nature, then we humans (as part of said universe) must also be mathematical creatures.
And it turns out that humans are hard wired for mathematics in a very real way. Welcome to the pre-frontal cortex: it is a bridge between us and the math based universe. The pre-frontal cortex starts developing at about the age of 8 and finishes developing at about the age of 21 (with rapid development in the final years). This part of the brain is responsible for our ability to comprehend and work with abstract mathematics. Let me rephrase that: the universe actually embedded a tool in us to allow humans to understand the universe at a deep and profound level (at the most pure level, really).
The pre-frontal cortex is evolution's gift to us for greater interaction between us and and... everything complex and abstract.
So, is the universe mathematical, and are we also mathematical entities? Our attempts to understand anything in many ways boil down to data, numbers, and thus math. Our pre-frontal cortex allows us to 'see' and understand data which is highly abstract, to create equations to make predictions about many things or algorithms to facilitate AI type intelligence.
Included, are attempts to understand humans through data and mathematics (hence the mass wholesale of internet user data to the highest bidders). In a nutshell - we use math to understand ourselves and the world around us. Our pre-frontal cortex allows us to do this at very abstract and complex levels. Since we end up having a prefrontal cortex as adults, and this is a tool for comprehending abstract mathematics - I equate these facts to mean that we are indeed highly mathematical creatures.
Isn't it incredible that most people don't know this? Isn't it amazing that children are not taught that they have an extremely limited ability to understand most math taught in primary and high school, due to their 'under development' pre-frontal cortex? There is a connection between our understanding of us as mathematical entities and our confidence in learning math. I will be posting on these issues in a homeschooling and education perspective.
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