Tuesday, 24 November 2020

Response to "Numbers with personality"

In Major's paper, it says "our brain creates a space where personal associations and broader social experience can mingle." This seems to be true in Ramanujan's case since he shows affections towards numbers by calling them friends. It's easy for mathematicians to talk in this way because they work with numbers all the time, however, I am not sure if it's a good idea to introduce this OLP to secondary math students. I would probably mention that numbers have personalities for some people, and students are welcomed to find numbers that's special to them by themselves. This is not a process that requires too much teacher involvement, in my opinion. 

There are some numbers that I don't feel comfortable with due to my cultural background, such as the number "four" as mentioned in the article. Although I do not believe in superstition ideas, I still try to avoid the number "four" when it is possible. I don't have particular affection towards other numbers, except numbers 2 and 5. The reason is simple, 2 and 5 are easier to work with in mathematics compared to numbers such as 7. It is usually easier to find patterns from 2 and 5. 

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