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I'm thinking back to my early schooldays where whenever we would have a math test I would answer the question "Junior had 10 apples, he ate 3, and gave 3 away. How many does he have now?" Way faster than I did "10-3-3=?". I guess the reason why is the difference in thinking. Some are holistic while others are literal (don't know how else to describe it). Basically a literal person accepts a concept as it is and works with it or understands it logically. A holistic person requires context to assess their belief on it. If you say "democracy is good" a literal person would say "yes". A holistic person would say "democracy for whom?" This isn't to say the former accepts things at face value, but that they view things in a linear perspective. If one thing is correct then the next logical step is also correct. The latter person would re-assert the context along each step and see if it still applies.
The other difference is how languages work. Unlike English (and Arabic for this example) Chinese and Japanese work with phonemes instead of words. Idk how to describe phonemes so here's an example
The number 2. No matter what language you speak if you see this "2" symbol you know what it represents. Two instances of something. You know what it means even if you can't describe it, and would understand it in whatever context even if it's technically incorrect. 2ب makes sense in a classroom but someone who speaks Arabic wouldn't understand the ب, but they would immediately understand that 2 describes a concept. So are there two of ب? Or is this ب the second in a sequence? The thinking from there is lateral.
The similarity comes in those languages' use of characters. 我 means "me" or the concept of oneself, and that idea is concrete even if used in an incorrect context. If you say 我半 it doesn't make sense when spoken but the first character represents oneself and the other represents "half of something" so even if you aren't familiar with the word you can make out a meaning just from connecting the dots. "Half of me?" "I halved something?" Many other meanings. The point is that east Asian languages use characters in a similar way we use numbers to describe concepts.
How does this tie to maths? Well ultimately (at least imo) maths come down to representing large concepts in a way that humans can understand. Like how we use the infinity symbol to describe something we can't actually comprehend fully. So if a holistic thinker wants to understand a mathematical concept, they'd do it the way a philosopher describes things. Using words that only make sense within their context to describe a timeless concept. A logical thinker would not need to because their understanding of symbols is linear. 2 means two of something, + means addition. Therefore 2+2=4. Any other answer would be illogical. For a holistic thinker they need a bit more mental effort to tie the concept of "two" to the number "2". Idk how to explain this...
In that first question, I have an easier time because the strict mention of "apples" makes me visualise ten of them. Explaining the process in which they're affected using words that only make sense within their context (you can't "eat" 10 bars of metal for example) to emphasize/assert that original context. It's a visual aid that makes me tie the symbol to the process by having a specific context within which it happens.
A logical thinker would have a worse time because they would tie the symbol not to a concept at large but to that specific issue. At least I think so. They wouldn't visualise 10 apples being eaten, they would simply conceptualise the number 10 and the logical conclusions of it's subtraction. If you changed the words it would have the same effect. They view it the same way regardless of context.
In conclusion, I think East Asians are better at maths because their linguistic background makes them more used to tying concepts with symbols rather than individual words or alphabets (Japanese is another topic). That means when they do mathematics they don't have the barrier of tying context to each individual question or having to visualise a physical representation of the logic. It simply works in their head from a lifetime of having to make up words by sticking individual concepts together. The word for computer is 电脑 which means "electric brain". All of their scientific words work that way. I'm kinda jealous
I tried to think of why other language groups have different ways of understanding it but that'll quickly become a /pol/ thread. Basically linguistics affect the way you process information which then affects your ability to assess some topics other than others. It isn't genetics but language. Arabic is somewhere in-between because the language makes up words using conceptual roots. We have a root term for each concept, but then derive it to make words. That leads to holistic thinking where you twist the meaning of a defined concept to suit a context. Doesn't work well for maths but works very well for philosophy. That's why they are so religious methinks
You might have noticed none of this tackles European languages. That's a story for another time
Inb4 I loved your post
I will rape you
The other difference is how languages work. Unlike English (and Arabic for this example) Chinese and Japanese work with phonemes instead of words. Idk how to describe phonemes so here's an example
The number 2. No matter what language you speak if you see this "2" symbol you know what it represents. Two instances of something. You know what it means even if you can't describe it, and would understand it in whatever context even if it's technically incorrect. 2ب makes sense in a classroom but someone who speaks Arabic wouldn't understand the ب, but they would immediately understand that 2 describes a concept. So are there two of ب? Or is this ب the second in a sequence? The thinking from there is lateral.
The similarity comes in those languages' use of characters. 我 means "me" or the concept of oneself, and that idea is concrete even if used in an incorrect context. If you say 我半 it doesn't make sense when spoken but the first character represents oneself and the other represents "half of something" so even if you aren't familiar with the word you can make out a meaning just from connecting the dots. "Half of me?" "I halved something?" Many other meanings. The point is that east Asian languages use characters in a similar way we use numbers to describe concepts.
How does this tie to maths? Well ultimately (at least imo) maths come down to representing large concepts in a way that humans can understand. Like how we use the infinity symbol to describe something we can't actually comprehend fully. So if a holistic thinker wants to understand a mathematical concept, they'd do it the way a philosopher describes things. Using words that only make sense within their context to describe a timeless concept. A logical thinker would not need to because their understanding of symbols is linear. 2 means two of something, + means addition. Therefore 2+2=4. Any other answer would be illogical. For a holistic thinker they need a bit more mental effort to tie the concept of "two" to the number "2". Idk how to explain this...
In that first question, I have an easier time because the strict mention of "apples" makes me visualise ten of them. Explaining the process in which they're affected using words that only make sense within their context (you can't "eat" 10 bars of metal for example) to emphasize/assert that original context. It's a visual aid that makes me tie the symbol to the process by having a specific context within which it happens.
A logical thinker would have a worse time because they would tie the symbol not to a concept at large but to that specific issue. At least I think so. They wouldn't visualise 10 apples being eaten, they would simply conceptualise the number 10 and the logical conclusions of it's subtraction. If you changed the words it would have the same effect. They view it the same way regardless of context.
In conclusion, I think East Asians are better at maths because their linguistic background makes them more used to tying concepts with symbols rather than individual words or alphabets (Japanese is another topic). That means when they do mathematics they don't have the barrier of tying context to each individual question or having to visualise a physical representation of the logic. It simply works in their head from a lifetime of having to make up words by sticking individual concepts together. The word for computer is 电脑 which means "electric brain". All of their scientific words work that way. I'm kinda jealous
I tried to think of why other language groups have different ways of understanding it but that'll quickly become a /pol/ thread. Basically linguistics affect the way you process information which then affects your ability to assess some topics other than others. It isn't genetics but language. Arabic is somewhere in-between because the language makes up words using conceptual roots. We have a root term for each concept, but then derive it to make words. That leads to holistic thinking where you twist the meaning of a defined concept to suit a context. Doesn't work well for maths but works very well for philosophy. That's why they are so religious methinks
You might have noticed none of this tackles European languages. That's a story for another time
Inb4 I loved your post
I will rape you
