Page 58 - Mind Games The Aging Brain and How to Keep it Healthy

42 • Chapter 2

Figure 2-10 Area for mathematical calculation

The ability to handle mathematics successfully is some-
what dependent on the strength of the individual’s spatial
abilities (as in music). Also of importance is the ability to un-
derstand fully numerical relationships and concepts. Be-
cause this requires a sense of intuition and feeling instead of
sequential proof, this ability is lodged in the right hemi-
sphere. Again, this is rather similar to the organization of the
brain when dealing with music. Music seems to lend a sense
of order and beauty to expressions that mathematicians and
scientists enjoy and appreciate. Teaching young children a
musical instrument or exposing them to music, especially
the classics, helps to organize their thought pro-cesses and
make children more successful in mathematics. 22

Spatial Intelligence

Second only to research on the linguistic operations of the
brain is research regarding spatial abilities. Perhaps so much
research is available on spatial abilities because it is some-