Blogpost 1: Monster Numbers

7 out of 20, 3 over 10, 15 out of 50 – horrible test scores, isn’t it? Have you experienced the moment your teacher gave you a test in math, and it made you like you wanted to cry? And as you looked at the numbers, they were like monsters that may eat you alive anytime? Personally, it happened to me, not once but numerous times already. I love math but it doesn’t love me back. Dealing with numbers is my waterloo. Though I dreamt of myself as a mathematician when I was still a little boy, it never happened but I hope it will. How I wish I am one of those who have established friendship with mathematics. However, even if I’m not good with numbers, I am not afraid of them. But some people do. 

I have been with people who find math as a really difficult subject, and somehow, I consider myself as one of them. These people got scared, felt dizzy, and sometimes, they even cry whenever they were asked to solve for number or mathematical problems. As an individual and engineering student, I really want to overcome this situation of mine. And I know, all people who are suffering from it also do. Anyway, this predicament of ours is considered as Arithmophobia – The Fear of Numbers.

There is an article entitled “Arithmophobia - Fear of Numbers” from fear.ezinemark.com by Trevor Johnson. According to the article written by Johnson, Arithmophobia is the fear of numbers which make it greatly difficult for many people under this condition, to cope and understand mathematics, arithmetic, and logic easily. Since our brain is not made automatically mathematically inclined, it is typical for us to get puzzled with these. Arithmophobia do not focus on only one as a general, but it also hubs on a specific number.

The author, Mr. Johnson, stated, “The fear of numbers is a factor that makes had a lot harder for many people suffering from it to learn mathematics and arithmetic properly. It is a condition where the brain simply cannot get around a number of figures and becomes frustrated and anxious because while they may want to achieve more, they find that there is a hidden obstacle in the way and this is that irrational fear.”

The author also points out that the fear of numbers is a type of dyslexia. “The problem is that arithmetic is all about logic and the fundamental basic laws of the universe. Unfortunately, our brains are not really meant to work in a particularly logical way of thinking so this can leave us open potentially to a number of confusions and complications” the author added. The main point Johnson wants to convey is that mathematics is mainly about logic and analysis, and not all of us are focused or set up with a logical mind. Hence, it is normal for us to get dither with mathematics.  Also, arithmophobia causes anxiety associated with numbers in general, or it may be a specific number like the mysterious number 13.

The next question is should we want to overcome this fear? Again, stated in Johnson’s article, we should know how to control this phobia. It is not intricate to overcome arithmophobia if you are willing to. Conquering this fear is very important because whether we like it or we like it, we cannot avoid numbers and we cannot do something about it crossing our lives every day. Mathematics and numbers are always present in all aspects of our lives. It has been with us ever since we were born.

Of course not all people cannot diagnose whether they are suffering from this phobia or not. Most likely, they thought that sweating copiously while carrying out a simple count, experiencing nausea, dizziness, irregular heartbeat, panic, anxiety, and confusion are just nothing but body irregularities, and they are not aware that they already suffer from arithmophobia. But who encounters these symptoms more? Who are more prone to artihmophobia, boys or girls?

In another article, written by Janet Goertzen entitled "Overcoming Math Anxiety”.  She stated that there is a conviction that girls are more prone to number anxiety than boys. This means, boys are naturally intact with ability in math, and girls do not posses any. However, in conformity with the article by Goertzen, another article from Science Daily contradicts to the idea that boys are better at math and girls are more prone to artihmophobia. Affirmed also in the article, girls do not perform well in mathematics because they are pressured and informed that they are inherently not good with numbers.

Included in Goertzen’s article is the study conducted by Sian Beilock, Associate Professor in Psychology and the Committee on Education at the University of Chicago, the lead author of a paper, "Female Teachers' Math Anxiety Affects Girls' Math Achievement" and other co-authors, published in the January 11 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, an expert on anxiety and stress as they relate to learning and performance, states that “Having a highly math-anxious female teacher may push girls to confirm the stereotype that they are not as good as boys at math, which in turn, affects girls' math achievement.” This means that people around us also contribute a lot in our development. Like what Beilock have stated, a teacher claims that girls are really not as good as boys in math. In this case, it seems like the teacher is pushing the female students to believe in the closure that they aren’t as good as boys are, which made them demoralized. Thus it results to low performances of the female students in math.

According to the study by Beilock, “Female elementary school teachers who are anxious about math pass on to female students the stereotype that boys, not girls, are good at math. Girls who endorse this belief then do worse at math, research shows. The research found that boys' math performance was not related to their teacher's math anxiety while girls' math achievement was affected.”

There are a lot of possible reasons why artihmophobia develops in a person. It might be caused by a traumatic experience and other negativities around which resulted to this fear. Thus, people might not be really afraid of numbers, but of the experience they had when dealing with numbers. This situation can happen to all people of different sexual orientation. No matter what gender or sexual orientation you have, if you really have arithmophobia, you really do. People with fear of numbers are not determined through its gender, remember.

Basically, Mathematics, specifically the numbers, is merely about logic. I can say that unfortunately, not all of us were given a mathematically-inclined way of thinking. However, it is normal for us to be confused and somehow encounter complications in manipulating numbers. We are encountering numbers in our daily lives; it is part of it anyway. We were born as a twin with numbers. Hence, we are the ones who are wretched if we will not do anything to overcome this fear, for we cannot avoid numbers. Getting into control of our fear and starting to do something to improve ourselves is the most important pace in recuperating. It is not difficult to do, anyway, for as long as we have the will to surmount this arithmophobia. For me, I still have a little hope in my mind and a big will in my heart that tells me not to stop finding a way to make friends with numbers. Hmm.. If only as easy as 1+1 is the issue then, most probably we will not find it hard to solve for numbers. We will not be intimidated by numbers. On the other hand, I will always remember that we should not be feared by numbers. Don’t let numbers control us, we must control them instead. And you, if you want to surpass this fear of yours, don’t let those monster numbers terrify you!