ssimpson@trwrba.UUCP (Scott W. Simpson) (12/26/85)
Has anyone seen any articles discussing how people envision
abstract numbering systems? For example, when I think of the alphabet,
I envision it as a circle (probably a flashback to my "See-and-Say"
days). I see a number line as going up then down from one to twenty,
from twenty to 100 the number line cycles up and down vertically to the
left, and from 100 to 1000 the number line goes horizontally to the
right. When I count, I mentally picture it in this format. The
structuring seems to be in subsets; that is, when I think of the number
120, I see it in the same position relative to other adjacent numbers
as if the leading one had been left off.
Sorry if this posting is to the inappropriate newsgroup. I
didn't see a net.psychology.
--
Scott Simpson
TRW Electronics and Defense Sector
...{decvax,ihnp4,ucbvax,ucivax}!trwrb!simpsonwa371@sdcc12.UUCP (Sorcerer's Apprentice) (12/29/85)
In article <1755@trwrba.UUCP>, ssimpson@trwrba.UUCP (Scott W. Simpson) writes: > Has anyone seen any articles discussing how people envision > abstract numbering systems?... > ... I see a number line as going up then down from one to twenty, > from twenty to 100 the number line cycles up and down ... > ... When I count, I mentally picture it in this format... Very interesting. My numbers from zero to nine have had colors since early childhood: 0=black, 1=white, 2=brown, 3=silver, 4=red, 5=green, 6=grey, 7=yellow, 8=blue, 9=grey. This creates some difficulty for me when I try to read the color code on electrical components, which is: black, brown, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, grey, white respectively (I think). My father saw numbers in the same colors, although he never tought me. Cheers, Bernd <bear-nd> *** hooray for USENET *** UUCP: ...!ucbvax!sdcsvax!sdcc12!wa371, ARPA: sdcsvax!sdcc12!wa371@nosc
steiny@scc.UUCP (Don Steiny) (12/30/85)
> > In article <1755@trwrba.UUCP>, ssimpson@trwrba.UUCP (Scott W. Simpson) writes: > > Has anyone seen any articles discussing how people envision > > abstract numbering systems?... > > ... I see a number line as going up then down from one to twenty, > > from twenty to 100 the number line cycles up and down ... > > ... When I count, I mentally picture it in this format... > > Very interesting. > My numbers from zero to nine have had colors since early childhood: > 0=black, 1=white, 2=brown, 3=silver, 4=red, 5=green, 6=grey, 7=yellow, > 8=blue, 9=grey. > Cheers, > Bernd <bear-nd> *** hooray for USENET *** These are both *visual* representations. Some people do not see pictures, but might have feelings or sounds associated with the numbers. There is a whole (fairly complicated) theory associated with these distinctions. It is called Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP). Books on NLP are available from Real People Press, Science and Behavior Books, and Meta Publications (in Cupertino). -- scc!steiny Don Steiny @ Don Steiny Software 109 Torrey Pine Terrace Santa Cruz, Calif. 95060 (408) 425-0382
archie@mirror.UUCP (12/31/85)
You've raised a question that I've wondered about for as long as I've been conscious of my personal pattern. I don't, however, have any scholarly information about it. Your patterns sound similar, though not identical, to mine. Since I'm sorry to say I can't precisely visualize yours from your verbal descriptions, I'll try to diagram mine. Since childhood I have visualized numbers this way: etc. 101 20----30----40----50----60----70----80----90----100 | | 15 | | 10----9----8----7----6----5----4----3----2----1----0 (SEEN FROM THIS VANTAGE POINT) And the alphabet this way: Z | | | | P------------------H | | | | A (SEEN FROM HERE) (Actually, it's a bit more complicated: Is it the G or H that's on the corner? It shifts, depending on whether I'm grouping letters from below or beyond. And do numbers above 100 go up at a right angle and then repeat the pattern, or do they double back parallel? But you get the idea.) I can think of an explanation for the alphabet pattern, at least, by virtue of which I suspect it may be a common one. In the "Alphabet Song" we learned as kids, the verse lines end with G and P. Incidentally, when I listen to a football game on radio (despite having seen countless games on TV and at the playing field) I visualize the yard lines from 0 to 50 (whichever side they're playing on) being arranged in the "[" configuration shown above. That is, I envision ball-carriers making right turns at the 20 and 10 yard lines! Let's not even think about forward passes or runs from one end of the field to the other. -- Archie Brodsky {mit-eddie, ihnp4!inmet, wjh12, cca, datacube}!mirror!archie Mirror Systems 2067 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA, 02140 Telephone: (617) 661-0777