Short Wave Why Big Numbers Break Our Brains
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Jan 3, 2024 
Elizabeth Toomarian, an educational neuroscientist from Stanford University, shares insights on why our brains struggle with big numbers. She explains how our cognitive abilities, shaped by evolution, are better suited for simple calculations than the complexities of the national debt or the scale of the universe. Toomarian discusses the mental number line and how our understanding of numbers evolves, emphasizing the importance of visual aids and metaphors to enhance numerical literacy in modern contexts like finance and climate change.
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Number Processing in the Brain
- Humans struggle to process numbers beyond five.
- We use different brain systems for small and large quantities.
Mental Number Line
- Our mental number line expands with age and experience.
- Adults often misjudge large numbers like millions and billions.
Evolutionary Limitations
- Our brains aren't naturally equipped for large, precise calculations.
- We're using old brain structures for new, complex tasks.