ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Cognitive science of mathematics

Hi there! Do you know what "cognitive science" means? It's a big word that refers to how our brains work and how we learn things.

Now, let's talk about "mathematics." Mathematics is all about numbers, shapes, and patterns. It helps us understand the world around us and solve problems.

So, when we talk about the cognitive science of mathematics, we're trying to understand how our brains learn and process math. Think of it like a computer - just like a computer needs a program to run, our brains need to process information in a certain way to understand math concepts.

For example, when we learn how to add numbers together, our brains break down the problem into smaller parts. We might start with the ones place, and then move on to the tens place, and so on. This helps us solve the problem step-by-step.

Cognitive scientists have also found that our brains use "mental images" to understand math. This means we might picture objects or shapes in our minds to solve problems. For example, if we want to add 5 + 3, we might picture 5 apples and 3 apples to understand that we have a total of 8 apples.

Overall, the cognitive science of mathematics helps us understand how our brains learn and process math, which can help us become better at it. Pretty cool, huh?