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Children struggle to learn elementary multiplication and division. So, it comes
as a great surprise to discover that all of us possess the mental
machinery necessary for performing lightening fast arithmetic.
Even more tantalising, we all should be able to do these calculations
in our head without ever setting pencil to paper, and to do so
for enormously large numbers.
This is the provocative finding of Professor Allan W. Snyder
(winner of the 1997 International Australia Prize) and his colleague,
Professor John Mitchell, at the Centre for the Mind. There paper
was published today (22 March) in the prestigious Royal Society'
journal Proceedings. Biological Sciences of the Royal Society.
But, all that glitters is not gold. According to Professor Snyder.
There is a barrier to actually tapping our innate gift of arithmetic.
And, curiously this is a barrier that has only been penetrated
by individuals with a rare form of mental abnormality known as
the Savant syndrome.
So, although the computational apparatus for lightening fast
arithmetic is within us all, it is nevertheless so far unattainable.
Nor do scientists have the vaguest idea of what is its primary
function.
The answer to this mystery remains a great challenge as does
learning ways to access our innate arithmetical skills. But, when
pushed, Professor Snyder does venture some guesses. And, they
might even be worth a listen. After all, he is the man that the
acclaimed neurologist Dr Oliver Sachs has called a wizard epitomising
the creative mind.
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