THE PSYCHOLOGY OF LEARNING MATHEMATICS

Into consciousness more elearly and fully than does sub-vocal speech.
When working more difficult problem in arithnietic, children often drop back
into whispering their thoughts; and in his voyage round the world in Gypsy
Moth IV, Sir Francis Chichester relates that when working the boat in
difficult conditions, and when very tired, he found that it helped to tell him
self aloud what was to be done. This would explain the common experience
that after simply stating a problem ( academic or other wise) aloud, even to
a hearer who makes no other contribution but to listen , we sometimes find
a solution.
When a discussion takes place, we get this subjective effect on both
sides, together with the interaction of ideas which is the more conscious
purpose of those taking part. The resulting progress of thought can be
considerable . because it is so easy to transmit our verbal symbols, and so
much harder to transmit our visual symbols we have
built-in physical apparatus for the former but not the latter the double
advantage described above is attached, in the experience of most of us,
much more strongly to verbal symbols.
Socialized thinking
It follows from this that our verbal thinking is likely to be more socialized,
since it is to a greater extend the end product not only of our individual
thinking but of that of others, and of interaction between the two. To see
something, literally, from someone elses receive from him a drawing or a
photograph, whereas he can tell us what he sees without our making a
move, and we can both hear the same sounds while standing in different
places and looking in different directions . visions is individual , hearing is
collective, at the concrete as well as at the symbolic level., And it is
interesting to notice that when we do wish to emphasize individual rather
than collective aspects of a set of ideas , we talk about a point of view.
Even aspect is a visual metaphor. So a contrast is beginning to emerge
between the two kinds of symbols, along the following lines

DIFFERENT KINDS OF IMAGERY

Verbal : Larder to communicate, more individual.
Verbal : casier to communicate, more collective.
(kabur2) is a social animal; and the advantages of communication are so
great that the predominance, noted earlier, of verbal thinking might well be
explainable on these grounds above. But the advantage of communicability
is an accidental one one ( we have built-in loudspeakers, but not built-in
picture projectors) and not intrinsic to the nature of the symbol themselves ,
Indeed , it is some times said that one picture is worth a thousand words .
If this is so, then instead of writing this book ( about 90.000 words ), the
author would have spent his time better in making 90 pictures. With
modern techniques of reproduction , this would have presented no difficulty
of publication . moreover , the written word loses the particular advantages
of simultaneity for, and interaction between speaker and hearer which the
spoken word has. So is writing books and reading them , reather than
drawing them and looking at the pictures, simply a habit taken over from
the habit of conversation and discussions ? or are there also intrinsic
advantages in the verbal-algebraic kind of symbol?
Visual symbols in geometry
Geometry suggest itself as a profitable contex in which to investigate this
question, since this is one of the areas of mathematics in which diagrams
seem to have particular importance . we must note at once that the
symbols involved are more abstract than a visual representation of an
object. Even a life-size colour photograph of an object shows only a single
aspect, and to the extent that it evokes the consept of the object-as-totallyexperienced, could be described as a symbol for the object. Other
representations abstract further usually showing shape rather than colour ,
texture , size . another degree of abstraction is found in drawings which
represent, not a particular object, but a class of objects. Even photograps
may serve this purpose one which advertises a new model of car is
intended to persuade us to buy, not that particular car, but one of a
particular class of cars .we

100 THE PSYCHOLOGY OF LEARNING METHEMATICS

Attribute to it every property common to all members of that set
acceleration , speed , comfort, etc.- but no particular quality, such as engine
number ,colour, . the photograph is just as much a symbol for a variable,* in
the strict mathematical sense, as (say) the words Daimler sovereign.
A major difference between the two kinds of symbol, photograph and
words, is that one looks a typical object of the set which it represents,
whereas the orther does not sound like it. So this visual symbols, at any
rate, has a closer link with the concept than has the corresponding verbal
symbol. The same is true geometrical symbols. This is a geometric symbol :

This is the corresponding verbal symbol :

a. circle
The resemblance of the geometric symbol to its concept has both
advantages and disadvantages . An advantage is that it evokes well the
properties of the concept. This is especially so when we represent visually
several concepts together. The diagram then brings into awareness the
relationships between these concepts far more clearly than does a verbal
representation of the same concepts.
A circle ; two tangents to it from a point outside the circle ; and the
radii through the points of contact of the tangents.

A disadvantage of the visual symbol is that it has to be drawn to be

communicated but pencil and paper, chalkboard and chalk, are easy
enough to use. We also have to remember that it.