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posted by LaminatorX on Wednesday August 20 2014, @11:40PM   Printer-friendly
from the base-$FINGERS dept.

A study on how children acquire knowledge shows that as children get older, they rely more on retrieving facts from memory than doing actual counting [Study Abstract].

During the study, as the children aged from an average of 8.2 to 9.4 years, they became faster and more accurate at solving math problems, and relied more on retrieving math facts from memory and less on counting. As these shifts in strategy took place, the researchers saw several changes in the children’s brains. The hippocampus, a region with many roles in shaping new memories, was activated more in children’s brains after one year. Regions involved in counting, including parts of the prefrontal and parietal cortex, were activated less.

The scientists also saw changes in the degree to which the hippocampus was connected to other parts of children’s brains, with several parts of the prefrontal, anterior temporal cortex and parietal cortex more strongly connected to the hippocampus after one year. Crucially, the stronger these connections, the greater was each individual child’s ability to retrieve math facts from memory, a finding that suggests a starting point for future studies of math-learning disabilities.

Although children were using their hippocampus more after a year, adolescents and adults made minimal use of their hippocampus while solving math problems. Instead, they pulled math facts from well-developed information stores in the neocortex.

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  • (Score: 1) by IndigoFreak on Thursday August 21 2014, @12:00AM

    by IndigoFreak (3415) on Thursday August 21 2014, @12:00AM (#83757)

    Great study! Here I thought working on math flash cards as a kid was me actually counting every time and not just memorization!

    • (Score: 2) by frojack on Thursday August 21 2014, @12:13AM

      by frojack (1554) on Thursday August 21 2014, @12:13AM (#83761) Journal

      I suspect this study bolsters the flash-card approach at the expense of some of the newer techniques [edweek.org] that have come into vogue these days.

      --
      No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
      • (Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 21 2014, @12:43PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 21 2014, @12:43PM (#83901)

        newer techniques

        And here's some context [edweek.org] for that scare-tactic picture, which requires that no context be present in order to be used for its intended purpose.

  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by khchung on Thursday August 21 2014, @12:14AM

    by khchung (457) on Thursday August 21 2014, @12:14AM (#83763)

    You really meant "Arithmetic", right?

    • (Score: 2) by khchung on Thursday August 21 2014, @12:16AM

      by khchung (457) on Thursday August 21 2014, @12:16AM (#83764)

      Wow, guess what, the 1st line in TFA is "As children learn basic arithmetic..."

      Please, we are educated people here, basic arithmetic is NOT "Maths".

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 21 2014, @12:36AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 21 2014, @12:36AM (#83768)

        > Please, we are educated people here, basic arithmetic is NOT "Maths".

        The BBC disagrees. [bbc.co.uk]

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 21 2014, @12:56AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 21 2014, @12:56AM (#83777)

          And the Doctor has passionate sex with lady dinosaurs. What's your point?

      • (Score: 2) by Magic Oddball on Thursday August 21 2014, @02:41AM

        by Magic Oddball (3847) on Thursday August 21 2014, @02:41AM (#83803) Journal

        How are you defining "math" then?

        The Merriam-Webster's dictionary entry describes mathematics as “the science of numbers and their operations, interrelations, combinations, generalizations, and abstractions and of space configurations and their structure, measurement, transformations, and generalizations.” That's pretty much what I was taught, if nothing else.

        PS. Not everyone on SN has a formal education and/or focused on STEM-related disciplines, believe it or not.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 21 2014, @07:09AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 21 2014, @07:09AM (#83851)

          You were taught the science? Lucky you. Most people are only taught the algorithms.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 21 2014, @02:43AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 21 2014, @02:43AM (#83804)

        Apparently you are not educated. Here is a list of Mathematical divisions

        Arithmetic studies quantity
        Algebra studies structure
        Geometry studies space
        Analysis is an umbrella term today that is the study of change

        That is the entirety of math. Everything else is either a subdivision of this or belongs within the purview of Philosophy.

        • (Score: 2) by khallow on Thursday August 21 2014, @03:10AM

          by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Thursday August 21 2014, @03:10AM (#83809) Journal

          There is one division in mathematics: extremely deeply nested applications of relations. Unless you use a stack-based architecture.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 21 2014, @07:16AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 21 2014, @07:16AM (#83855)

          All of mathematics studies structure. Mathematics is the science of structures.

      • (Score: 2) by theluggage on Thursday August 21 2014, @10:50AM

        by theluggage (1797) on Thursday August 21 2014, @10:50AM (#83879)

        Please, we are educated people here, basic arithmetic is NOT "Maths".

        Everything is mathematics, for particular definitions of "everything", "mathematics" and "is".

        While I'd go with arithmetic definitely being part of maths, I'd agree that describing a study that specifically looked at basic arithmetic skills as being about solving "math problems" is sloppy. Ask anybody who actually enjoyed mathematics at school and they'll likely cite one of its virtues as "you didn't have to remember so much".

        Lets not let in any straw men here: learning basic arithmetic is a worthwhile thing to do in school, and you probably will be faster and more accurate if you don't still have to count on your fingers when doing algebra - but it is only one small part of mathematics and shouldn't be the "gatekeeper" to the rest of the subject. Unfortunately, it is much easier to test kids on how many facts they can recall than it is to see if they can reason mathematically.

      • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 21 2014, @12:53PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 21 2014, @12:53PM (#83906)

        Please, we are educated people here

        Many comments around the site suggest otherwise.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 21 2014, @06:49PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 21 2014, @06:49PM (#84039)

        Actually, it is.

        Arithmetic or arithmetics (from the Greek word ἀριθμός, arithmos "number") is the oldest and most elementary branch of mathematics

        Your statement is like saying, that people are NOT animals. Arithmetics is the type of math that people in that age tend to know, so while it may not have the degree of precision you might like, it is a true statement, and few people would actually get confused as to if these 6 year olds are doing trig or not.

  • (Score: 2) by kaszz on Thursday August 21 2014, @12:44AM

    by kaszz (4211) on Thursday August 21 2014, @12:44AM (#83772) Journal

    Although children were using their hippocampus more after a year, adolescents and adults made minimal use of their hippocampus while solving math problems. Instead, they pulled math facts from well-developed information stores in the neocortex.

    This ought to mean that people won't train their hippocampus much after a while. And also that people that rely less on memory will train it very much..

    And people that just get on with more difficult problems when they manage the simple ones. Will train hippocampus.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 21 2014, @12:54AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 21 2014, @12:54AM (#83776)

      Adults don't need a brain. They obey, and obedience brings money.

    • (Score: 2) by SlimmPickens on Thursday August 21 2014, @12:58AM

      by SlimmPickens (1056) on Thursday August 21 2014, @12:58AM (#83778)

      I think it means that the hippocampus involved with the "setting" of memories, that is, it's part of the instrumentation which dampens and strengthens connections.

      • (Score: 2) by kaszz on Thursday August 21 2014, @01:37AM

        by kaszz (4211) on Thursday August 21 2014, @01:37AM (#83787) Journal

        Which part does the calculations then?

        • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 21 2014, @01:52AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 21 2014, @01:52AM (#83791)

          The prefrontal neofrobnoggin.

        • (Score: 2) by SlimmPickens on Thursday August 21 2014, @01:53AM

          by SlimmPickens (1056) on Thursday August 21 2014, @01:53AM (#83792)

          Everything calculates. It's just one giant differential filter, applied to signals that start out as exponentials, and the only two parameters are the signal strength and time (think back to a cambrian slug with a one pixel eye, or perhaps two pixels). This is according to my personal theory of intelligence that I made up.

  • (Score: 5, Interesting) by dcollins on Thursday August 21 2014, @01:07AM

    by dcollins (1168) on Thursday August 21 2014, @01:07AM (#83780) Homepage

    Alfred North Whitehead, An Introduction to Mathematics (1911):

    By relieving the brain of all unnecessary work, a good notation sets it free to concentrate on more advanced problems, and, in effect, increases the mental power of the race. Before the introduction of the Arabic notation, multiplication was difficult, and the division even of integers called into play the highest mathematical faculties. Probably nothing in the modern world would have more astonished a Greek mathematician than to learn that … a large proportion of the population of Western Europe could perform the operation of division for the largest numbers. This fact would have seemed to him a sheer impossibility … Our modern power of easy reckoning with decimal fractions is the almost miraculous result of the gradual discovery of a perfect notation. [...] By the aid of symbolism, we can make transitions in reasoning almost mechanically, by the eye, which otherwise would call into play the higher faculties of the brain. [...] It is a profoundly erroneous truism, repeated by all copy-books and by eminent people when they are making speeches, that we should cultivate the habit of thinking of what we are doing. The precise opposite is the case. Civilisation advances by extending the number of important operations which we can perform without thinking about them. Operations of thought are like cavalry charges in a battle — they are strictly limited in number, they require fresh horses, and must only be made at decisive moments.

  • (Score: 3, Funny) by Tork on Thursday August 21 2014, @01:19AM

    by Tork (3914) Subscriber Badge on Thursday August 21 2014, @01:19AM (#83783)
    I remember when I was in first grade we had a period where every Friday they'd have us solve simple addition problems. The goal was to see how many we could solve in a given time. After repeating through it 3 or 4 times I somehow memorized it. I had something like triple the second highest score in the class.

    Oh and I never had a problem understanding what CPU cache is. :)
    --
    🏳️‍🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️‍🌈
  • (Score: 2, Interesting) by panachocala on Thursday August 21 2014, @12:43PM

    by panachocala (464) on Thursday August 21 2014, @12:43PM (#83900)

    Compare driving somewhere new to driving somewhere you've been before.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 21 2014, @03:45PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 21 2014, @03:45PM (#83982)

      Or just walking. If you walk somewhere where the initial part of the way is the same as a way you often go, there's the danger that you'll later notice that you've gone that known way while thinking about something else. Your body was on "autopilot".