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Math, mathematics, maths, whatever it’s called, it is the bane of students’ existence everywhere. Only a handful of people are ever good at it and even fewer are actually interested in practicing it. This is just something that has become an accepted fact in society. Now, a study has proven that the fear of equations and numbers is universal even among those whose careers revolve around them, including physicists.
As UPI points out, the findings of the study are interesting in that it indicates that fear of math is not just prevalent among those who are not excited by numbers or believe themselves to be bad at it. Rather, it’s something that afflicts even those with training in high-level mathematics and complex equations.
In a press release, one of the authors of the study, Andrew Higginson from the University of Exeter, noted that they had already noticed these findings among biologists. This wasn’t exactly surprising as biologists usually have less to do with complicated calculations as they do with experimenting with organic substances. What they didn’t expect was how prevalent the issue was among physicists.
"We have already showed that biologists are put off by equations but we were surprised by these findings, as physicists are generally skilled in mathematics," Higginson said.
In the study, this fear of math is exhibited by the aversion of physicists to work on theories that involved a ton of high-level equations. This shows that the barriers to completing work that involves such factors aren’t only because of a lack of training or even because math is deemed uncool. It’s because the physicists don’t want to do the work necessary to unravel the meaning behind the equations.
According to the researchers behind the study, the solution to the problem has less to do with improving training, Phys.org reports. Rather, it’s about working on communication and helping students understand the meaning and purpose of particular equations.
