{"id":253031,"date":"2025-03-06T11:36:09","date_gmt":"2025-03-06T11:36:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/06\/viewing-math-as-a-language-might-help-it-make-sense-to-more-of-us\/"},"modified":"2025-03-06T11:36:09","modified_gmt":"2025-03-06T11:36:09","slug":"viewing-math-as-a-language-might-help-it-make-sense-to-more-of-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/06\/viewing-math-as-a-language-might-help-it-make-sense-to-more-of-us\/","title":{"rendered":"Viewing math as a language might help it make sense to more of us"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1030_lang_of_math_NOUNS.png?ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Viewing math as a language might help it make sense to more of us\" title=\"Viewing math as a language might help it make sense to more of us\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-component=\"video-embed\">\n<aside class=\"sn-conversion rich-text alignright\"\/>\n<p>Does math leave you anxious? Maybe you feel it\u2019s unforgiving \u2014 that unless everything is perfectly right, it\u2019s totally wrong. Perhaps it just doesn\u2019t compute for you. It\u2019s like looking at a foreign language \u2014 one in which you\u2019re far from fluent.<\/p>\n<p>If this is you, you\u2019re not alone. \u201cMath anxiety is a widespread, worldwide problem affecting all age groups,\u201d a trio of researchers in Austria <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tandfonline.com\/doi\/full\/10.2147\/PRBM.S141421\" rel=\"noopener\">noted in a 2018 review<\/a> on the subject. They cited work finding that more than nine in every 10 U.S. adults, for instance, admit to having some level of math anxiety.<\/p>\n<p>Then there are other people \u2014 a far smaller group \u2014 for whom math makes perfect sense. Indeed, for them its logic and predictability offer comfort and even pleasure.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"wp-block-sciencenews-inline-related-post alignleft\">\n<h4><a href=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/article\/lets-learn-about-dealing-with-math-anxiety\">Let\u2019s learn about dealing with math anxiety<\/a><\/h4>\n<\/aside>\n<p>What sets the math-fluent apart from the math-phobic? That\u2019s something that\u2019s been puzzling Ben Orlin for a long while. This teacher and self-described \u201cmath apologist\u201d in Saint Paul, Minn., thinks the world of numbers has gotten a bum rap.<\/p>\n<p>Math brings Orlin great joy. But rather than dwell on the obvious \u2014 that relatively few people share his love of math \u2014 he\u2019s decided to try and turn things around. Maybe he can\u2019t make math fun for everyone, but he\u2019d like to lessen the anxiety it triggers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne of my great pleasures has been getting to write four books about the power of mathematical ideas,\u201d he says. Along the way, he notes, \u201cI have taught everyone from 11-year-olds to undergraduates \u2014 mostly [about] math.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He thinks that many people who have trouble with math simply weren\u2019t taught it right. So, what does he think went wrong?<\/p>\n<p>In many classrooms around the world, teachers present math \u2014 at least elementary stages of it \u2014 as a memory exercise, explains Tom Crawford. He\u2019s a math professor at the University of Oxford in England. A lot of books and teachers around the world take a repeat-after-me approach, he says. Like \u201chere are some formulas.\u201d Now learn them. \u201cYou need to know them because they\u2019re on your test.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote alignleft has-medium-font-size\" style=\"border-style:none;border-width:0px;border-radius:0px\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u2018Many kids ask, where will I ever use math? Orlin\u2019s answer: You can and should use it everywhere, every day \u2026 giving us all more control over our world and what we do with it.\u2019<br \/>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><cite> <strong>Ben Orlin<\/strong><\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<p>In this approach, Crawford admits, \u201cthere isn\u2019t [much] creativity or applicability to the subject.\u201d So it falls on teachers to make math more engaging. They have to find new ways to overcome the main source of anxiety \u2014 that feeling in your bones that math is hard.<\/p>\n<p>To Orlin, math really is a system of communication. It\u2019s a way to share ideas. And it all starts with \u201ctrying to assign numbers to the world,\u201d he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=hlVnYGRINpA&amp;t=127s\" rel=\"noopener\">told the Leading Equity podcast<\/a> last year.<\/p>\n<p>In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hachettebookgroup.com\/titles\/ben-orlin\/math-for-english-majors\/9780762499816\/?lens=black-dog-leventhal\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Math for English Majors<\/em><\/a>, which published in September 2024, Orlin argues that one approach is to indeed treat math as a language. And he\u2019s not the first. The 17th century Italian scientist Galileo Galilei is among the first to raise the idea of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.loc.gov\/item\/2021666740\/\" rel=\"noopener\">math as a universal language<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>But Orlin doesn\u2019t want math viewed as a foreign language \u2014 one to dust off when you\u2019re about to travel overseas. It\u2019s a language to use every day as a way to make sense of the offers, ideas, risks and opportunities affecting every aspect of our lives. Math offers one of the best ways to think through and choose between those options, Orlin says.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-group cheat-sheet-cta\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">Do you have a science question? We can help!<\/h2>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><a href=\"https:\/\/forms.gle\/YbhPosFTMqjbSNnV7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Submit your question here<\/a>, and we might answer it an upcoming issue of\u00a0<em>Science News Explores<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to speak math<\/h2>\n<p>So where, you might ask, are the words? Isn\u2019t math largely numbers and operations? How can one be expected to <em>read <\/em>these funny symbols and commands, much less debate with them?<\/p>\n<p>Consider those numbers, Orlin says, like nouns. A noun defines a person, place or thing. And a noun gives each of those things its identity.<\/p>\n<p>In some ways, the same can be said for numbers. By themselves, numbers do not carry meaning. Seven, for instance, is nothing except an adjective to describe something else.<\/p>\n<p>Think of seven marbles, then the phrase \u201cbeautiful marbles.\u201d Here, seven and beautiful both serve as descriptors. The adjective beautiful gives rise to the noun beauty. In much the same way, Orlin says, the adjective seven gives rise to the noun seven. A number is a noun born from an adjective. And a number\u2019s identity is born by assigning a name to it.<\/p>\n<p>This is similar to how we would impart identity to nouns by naming them in English or any other language.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><span class=\"caption wp-caption-3151277\">How do you speak the language of math? Orlin argues that numbers can be thought of like nouns, since numbers receive their identities only when we assign names to them. <\/span><span class=\"credit wp-credit-3151277\">B. Orlin<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The language of numbers began with counting<\/h2>\n<p>At the heart of naming our numbers lies counting, a practice that <a href=\"https:\/\/history-of-mathematics.org\/Counting.html\" rel=\"noopener\">dates back more than 40,000 years<\/a>. Even young <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/30719820\/\" rel=\"noopener\">babies understand counting<\/a>. And counting is not just something people do. So do <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencenews.org\/article\/quantity-counts-baboons\" rel=\"noopener\">other apes<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.science.org\/doi\/10.1126\/science.adl0984\" rel=\"noopener\">crows<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.science.org\/doi\/10.1126\/sciadv.aav0961\" rel=\"noopener\">honeybees<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Counting played a vital role in ancient times. Our distant ancestors used to count the passing days to keep track of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nist.gov\/pml\/time-and-frequency-division\/popular-links\/walk-through-time\/walk-through-time-ancient-calendars\" rel=\"noopener\">moon\u2019s phases<\/a> (important to agriculture). Early humans also made <a href=\"https:\/\/humanorigins.si.edu\/evidence\/behavior\/recording-information\/ishango-bone\" rel=\"noopener\">tally marks<\/a> on a baboon\u2019s leg bone, possibly to add or multiply. In modern times, we\u2019ve taught computers how to count so they can complete numerous other tasks.<\/p>\n<p>These practices highlight the need to describe such counts by naming them.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1030\" height=\"579\" src=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1030_lang_of_math_counting.png\" alt=\"three different ways to group balls in the number 18. 'threesix' (three rows of six balls), ninepair (nine pairs of balls), doublenines (two sets of 9 balls), and then eighteen (8 and 10) the first three phrases have smiling stick people next to them. The fourth (eighteen) features a stick figure looking unimpressed.\" class=\"wp-image-3151278\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1030_lang_of_math_counting.png 1030w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1030_lang_of_math_counting-680x383.png 680w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1030_lang_of_math_counting-800x450.png 800w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1030_lang_of_math_counting-330x186.png 330w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1030_lang_of_math_counting-768x432.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1030px) 100vw, 1030px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><span class=\"caption wp-caption-3151278\">The way we name our numbers is associated with our desire to have a simple counting system and provide numbers with meaningful identities.<\/span><span class=\"credit wp-credit-3151278\">B. Orlin<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>So, what\u2019s in a name for a number? Consider 18. \u201cEighteen\u201d comes from the idea of eight plus 10. But why not call it three sixes? Or a dozen and a half \u2014 or the equivalent of the Welsh word <em>deunaw,<\/em> which means two nines?<\/p>\n<p>Societies have tried to keep counting simple, writes Orlin. Our counting system, known as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/article\/explainer-what-are-logarithms-exponents\">base 10<\/a>, seeks to classify things in groups of 10. Why? Before people started writing, they used their <a href=\"https:\/\/jnc.psychopen.eu\/index.php\/jnc\/article\/view\/5787\/5787.html\" rel=\"noopener\">bodies to count<\/a>. Base 10 probably took off because we have 10 fingers.<\/p>\n<p>The ease of naming helps provide numbers with meaningful identities. Those counts then give context \u2014 such as an \u201ceighteenth\u201d birthday or \u201csixteenth\u201d anniversary \u2014 to our lived experiences.<\/p>\n<p>Naming numbers is just the beginning of linking words and math. Orlin\u2019s newest book offers \u201ca way of mapping the English language we know to the math we don\u2019t,\u201d says Matthew Causley. He\u2019s an editor at a mathematics research journal. \u201cThe strength of [Orlin\u2019s] argument comes down to that mapping [as a way to] compare everything.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Orlin wants to take it even farther. Other mathematical features, he says, correspond to verbs and even grammar \u2014 the building blocks of verbal language.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1030\" height=\"579\" src=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1030_lang_of_math_CALCULATION.png\" alt=\"the equation 1 + 1 is in midair between two stick people. The stick person on the right has a calculator and looks very stressed. It is saying 'I'm working on it!' while the stick figure to the right looks smug and says 'Oh, That old thing.'\" class=\"wp-image-3151275\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1030_lang_of_math_CALCULATION.png 1030w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1030_lang_of_math_CALCULATION-680x383.png 680w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1030_lang_of_math_CALCULATION-800x450.png 800w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1030_lang_of_math_CALCULATION-330x186.png 330w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1030_lang_of_math_CALCULATION-768x432.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1030px) 100vw, 1030px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><span class=\"caption wp-caption-3151275\">As a step toward reading math in a new way, Orlin recommends ignoring the impulse to rush into calculating the answer to 1+1. Instead, he suggests, observe the structure of the expression. Here, the plus could act like a preposition to link two nouns, 1 with 1. <\/span><span class=\"credit wp-credit-3151275\">B. Orlin<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What\u2019s a mathy verb?<\/h2>\n<p>If numbers are comparable to nouns, what in math corresponds to verbs?<\/p>\n<p>Verbs tend to signify action. So could operations \u2014 such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and so on \u2014 stand in for those verbs? Orlin urges students to stretch their imagination and look beyond even that. Operations are not just a set of instructions, he suggests, but also a grammatical structure for math.<\/p>\n<p>Take the plus sign in 2+3. More than just a symbol, it can become a grammar counterpart to mathematical nouns (numbers). That plus sign, Orlin says, could be a conjunction (the \u201cand\u201d in 2 and 3). Or it could be a preposition (the \u201cwith\u201d in 2 with 3).<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1030\" height=\"579\" src=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1030_lang_of_math_VERBS.png\" alt=\"a drawing of '2 + 3', each number has cartoon eyeballs on the top of their body. The plus sign also has eyeballs. The two says 'Wait, who's doing the plus?', the plus says 'WHAT AM I??', and the three says 'No one &quot;does&quot; a plus.&quot; with an eyeroll.\" class=\"wp-image-3151276\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1030_lang_of_math_VERBS.png 1030w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1030_lang_of_math_VERBS-680x383.png 680w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1030_lang_of_math_VERBS-800x450.png 800w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1030_lang_of_math_VERBS-330x186.png 330w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1030_lang_of_math_VERBS-768x432.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1030px) 100vw, 1030px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><span class=\"caption wp-caption-3151276\">Since verbs signify action, a mathematical operation \u2014 such as \u201cplus\u201d\u2014 can be treated like an action that we perform between numbers. <\/span><span class=\"credit wp-credit-3151276\">B. Orlin<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Negative numbers can be akin to a linguistic trick, Orlin argues. Think mathematically of phrases like \u201c300 feet below sea level\u201d or \u201c15 minutes before launch.\u201d You could represent the altitude as -300 feet and time as -15:00, respectively.<\/p>\n<p>That minus symbol could be mapped to prepositions that mean below, before, backward and down, for instance. Similarly, the plus symbol could be mapped to their opposites \u2014 above, after, forward and up. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Negative numbers have for centuries confounded even mathematicians. To make them easier to understand, Orlin suggests that educators connect them with something concrete, such as debt. That\u2019s a term commonly attributed to negative dollars. Says Orlin, even sixth graders get the idea that if you owe your neighbor $3 and your cousin $9, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=hlVnYGRINpA&amp;t=1103s\" rel=\"noopener\">my gosh, now you owe $12<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1030\" height=\"1029\" src=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1030_lang_of_math_NEGATIVE-NUMBERS.png\" alt=\"three numberlines with stick figures: from the top the first numberline is titled MONEY, below zero is labeled 'debt', above zero is lableled 'wealth' The debt stick person looks sad and the wealth stick person holds piles of money happily. The second numberline is titled 'GOLF' and from -2 to -1 it is labeled 'good', from 1 -2 is labled 'less good' again with two stick figures and the one in th best situation looking happy and smug. The third timeline is titled 'Weather' where below 0 is freezing (too cold) and above zero (1 -4) is labeled 'still too cold' both stick people look cold and miserable.\" class=\"wp-image-3151273\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1030_lang_of_math_NEGATIVE-NUMBERS.png 1030w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1030_lang_of_math_NEGATIVE-NUMBERS-383x383.png 383w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1030_lang_of_math_NEGATIVE-NUMBERS-450x450.png 450w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1030_lang_of_math_NEGATIVE-NUMBERS-186x186.png 186w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1030_lang_of_math_NEGATIVE-NUMBERS-768x767.png 768w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1030_lang_of_math_NEGATIVE-NUMBERS-581x580.png 581w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1030_lang_of_math_NEGATIVE-NUMBERS-777x776.png 777w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1030_lang_of_math_NEGATIVE-NUMBERS-214x214.png 214w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1030_lang_of_math_NEGATIVE-NUMBERS-80x80.png 80w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1030px) 100vw, 1030px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><span class=\"caption wp-caption-3151273\">Real-world applications can help make sense of abstract mathematical concepts like negative numbers. <\/span><span class=\"credit wp-credit-3151273\">B. Orlin<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Too abstract for you?<\/h2>\n<p>If you feel like these concepts are a forceful flex of your mental muscles, don\u2019t worry. You have company here. (Orlin\u2019s uncle Paul, for instance, was flabbergasted at hearing him describe mathematics as structure rather than instructions.)<\/p>\n<p>However, some experts welcome likening math to a language. One of them is author Michael Pershan. By day, he teaches math at a school in New York City.<\/p>\n<p>He sees Orlin as saying, \u201cthe equations, inequalities, numbers \u2014 the non-linguistic and symbolic items \u2014 are also linguistic.\u201d Pershan finds it provocative and useful to think of math as a language. With that in mind, he says, \u201cwe can teach, understand and communicate in it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Could comparing math to language make math less intimidating? \u201cI think the overall idea is great,\u201d says Crawford at Oxford. Though \u201cwhat would be the nouns, the verbs, the adjectives?\u201d To him, that\u2019s still a bit unclear. \u201cBut,\u201d he adds, \u201cthat doesn\u2019t mean it wouldn\u2019t work.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1030\" height=\"579\" src=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1030_lang_of_math_CALCULATION2.png\" alt=\"On the right a stick person with a hammer, scissors and an anxious expression rushes to the equation in the middle of the image is the equation '3 x 7 x 11', on the right a stickfigure holds a drink with an umbella in it and says 'Ah. Nice number.'\" class=\"wp-image-3151274\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1030_lang_of_math_CALCULATION2.png 1030w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1030_lang_of_math_CALCULATION2-680x383.png 680w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1030_lang_of_math_CALCULATION2-800x450.png 800w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1030_lang_of_math_CALCULATION2-330x186.png 330w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1030_lang_of_math_CALCULATION2-768x432.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1030px) 100vw, 1030px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><span class=\"caption wp-caption-3151274\">More than just a set of instructions, a mathematical equation is a way to share an idea, Orlin says. Taking such an out-of-the-box approach, lends a \u201cgrammatical structure\u201d to math, giving it a flavor of language.<\/span><span class=\"credit wp-credit-3151274\">B. Orlin<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Other experts, though, challenge the idea of math being a universal language. They cite concerns about the potential <a href=\"https:\/\/aaas-arise.org\/2022\/12\/13\/lets-stop-saying-that-math-is-the-universal-language\/\" rel=\"noopener\">barriers it poses to people who are non-native English speakers or who have language-based learning disabilities<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>A shift in how math is handled could affect testing, too. Math is already a part of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2227-7102\/14\/2\/129\" rel=\"noopener\">standardized tests<\/a> for U.S. high school students. Could making math more language-heavy hinder kids\u2019 ability to do well on those tests \u2014 especially among those who lack a good command of English and its grammar?<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Literary \u2018math\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Even for these students, however, there might be workarounds. Consider the math in literature, says Dave Richeson. This mathematician teaches at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa. Many stories draw on math metaphors, he notes.<\/p>\n<p>The book <em>Jurassic Park<\/em> explains an idea using chaos theory \u2014 the concept that small fluctuations in a system can give rise to random, unpredictable behaviors. The famous story <em>Moby Dick<\/em> describes the geometric property of a large, curved cauldron as a character notes how a dropped object falls within it. And maybe you\u2019ve heard of the book (and movie) <em>Life of Pi<\/em>. In it, irrational numbers \u2014 those that, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/article\/scientists-say-pi-math\">like pi<\/a>, can\u2019t be expressed as a ratio of two integers \u2014 represent the idea that not all realities in nature are simplistic.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe Orlin is flipping this idea around, Causley wonders. Perhaps the rules of grammar are simply analogous to concepts in math. Roald Dahl, who wrote <em>Charlie and the Chocolate Factory<\/em>, <em>Matilda<\/em> and many other children\u2019s books, seemed to think so. A character in one of his books once noted, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/work\/quotes\/69421-the-great-automatic-grammatizator-and-other-stories\" rel=\"noopener\">English grammar is governed by rules that are almost mathematical in their strictness<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Will these ideas catch on?<\/h2>\n<p>It\u2019s still early days to judge whether math indeed could serve as a universal language. What\u2019s more, it\u2019s hardly the only way to help kids appreciate math, Crawford notes. \u201cTo me, any idea around trying to present maths in a different way \u2014 so that it becomes more accessible for a certain audience \u2014 is an excellent idea.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Crawford has already used <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=4RIHTHYD2SQ\" rel=\"noopener\">ideas from Orlin\u2019s earlier books<\/a> to teach <a href=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/article\/scientists-say-calculus-definition-pronunciation\">calculus<\/a> and found them quite helpful. So when it comes to comparing math and language, he says, \u201cI think given Ben\u2019s the person doing it, it will be great. I think all of his work is very creative.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>One motivation for proposing this approach in the first place, Orlin notes, was \u201cmy own frustration over seeing my students\u2019 frustration with how mathematics looks to them.\u201d Kids get anxious over math in ways they do over few other subjects, he says. After all, kids \u201cdo not get nightmares over having to take an English test!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Orlin hopes that looking at math as a language will give people an overview of \u201cwhat is it [like] building from the basics of numbers through what leads into solving [more complex problems] down the road.\u201d His approach aims to offer \u201ca snapshot of how [math all] just connects.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Orlin has heard many kids ask: Where will I ever use math? His answer: You should use it everywhere, every day. It can help us answer a lot of questions in day-to-day life, giving us all more control over our world and what we do with it.<\/p>\n<section class=\"newsletter-signup__wrapper___lZ0W1 wp-block-house-ads wp-block-newsletter-signup\">\n<picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/themes\/sciencenews-sns-child\/client\/src\/images\/cta-module@1x.png 1x,&#10;&#9;&#9;&#9;&#9;https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/themes\/sciencenews-sns-child\/client\/src\/images\/cta-module@2x.png 2x\" media=\"(min-width: 768px)\"><source srcset=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/themes\/sciencenews-sns-child\/client\/src\/images\/cta-module-sm@1x.png 1x,&#10;&#9;&#9;&#9;&#9;https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/themes\/sciencenews-sns-child\/client\/src\/images\/cta-module-sm@2x.png 2x\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"newsletter-signup__background___Eym8W\" src=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/themes\/sciencenews-sns-child\/client\/src\/images\/cta-module-sm@2x.png\" alt=\"\"\/><br \/>\n<\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<div class=\"newsletter-signup__container___srNOL\" data-component=\"newsletter-signup\">\n<h3 class=\"newsletter-signup__heading___0EHmb\">\n\t\t\tEducators and Parents, Sign Up for The Cheat Sheet\t\t<\/h3>\n<div class=\"newsletter-signup__message___pemaq\">\n<p>Weekly updates to help you use <em>Science News Explores<\/em> in the learning environment<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"newsletter-signup__thankyou___K6GGN\">Thank you for signing up!<\/p>\n<p class=\"newsletter-signup__error___hCsJI\">There was a problem signing you up.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<aside class=\"sn-conversion rich-text\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/article\/math-as-language-anxiety\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Does math leave you anxious? Maybe you feel it\u2019s unforgiving \u2014 that unless everything is perfectly right, it\u2019s totally wrong. Perhaps it just doesn\u2019t compute for you. It\u2019s like looking at a foreign language \u2014 one in which you\u2019re far from fluent. If this is you, you\u2019re not alone. \u201cMath anxiety is a widespread, worldwide [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":253032,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1030_lang_of_math_NOUNS.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[606],"tags":[14575,38826,7922,113711],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253031"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=253031"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253031\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":253033,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253031\/revisions\/253033"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/253032"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=253031"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=253031"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=253031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}