Thread: Numbers, numbers, numbers :)

I was reading an article on Jake Barnett (yes, the 12 year old prodigy) and I noticed...

According to his parents Jake has trouble sleeping at night as he constantly sees numbers in his head.

And I thought "Wow, I have the same problem some nights." Now, I am no mathematical genius or expert, nor am I genius or expert in any other academic field.

However, I am mathematics-oriented and I love to play around with numbers (which is why I love to ask questions in the math subforum)... whether it be with pen or pencil or in my head. And being focused on mathematics so much, numbers (or something math related) are constantly in my head. Especially when I haven't been socially active for a while. It's always math, math, math, math, math, math, and more math.

Does anyone else have the same problem? And is there a name to this condition? This isn't necessarily a problem, but I am curious.

Thanks in advance.

brody

It happens to anyone who thinks about something a great deal. I remember when I was a young guy, I earned my living for a time breath hold diving for abalone. When I went to bed at night, I saw masses of abolone dancing behind my eyelids. Almost drove me crazy.

If you find it is a problem, just do something else for a day or two and forget the numbers. They appear because you think about them so much.

Does anyone else have the same problem? And is there a name to this condition? This isn't necessarily a problem, but I am curious.

Absolutely. I often used it as a measure about if I've studied enough prior to going to bed. If it's still filling your mind, and you even dream about it, you'll almost alway max whatever task is at hand the next day--whether it doing a paino recital or aceing an exam.

Originally Posted by skeptic

brody

It happens to anyone who thinks about something a great deal. I remember when I was a young guy, I earned my living for a time breath hold diving for abalone. When I went to bed at night, I saw masses of abolone dancing behind my eyelids. Almost drove me crazy.

If you find it is a problem, just do something else for a day or two and forget the numbers. They appear because you think about them so much.

Wow. Dancing abalone would've driven me crazy too. And yes, it always gets better when I take my mind off it for a while.

Originally Posted by Lynx_Fox

Does anyone else have the same problem? And is there a name to this condition? This isn't necessarily a problem, but I am curious.

Absolutely. I often used it as a measure about if I've studied enough prior to going to bed. If it's still filling your mind, and you even dream about it, you'll almost alway max whatever task is at hand the next day--whether it doing a paino recital or aceing an exam.

Interesting. The next time I'll have a big exam, I'll make sure that I'll dream about numbers. I just hope it won't turn into something like Donald in Mathmagic Land.

And as a connection to psychology, it's strange how the brain always sticks to anything long-term. Could this be related to motion? As in when I go on a long hike all day, when I try to sleep I can subtly feel my legs moving (and it's very unsettling).

And from what skeptic said about diving for abalones, I remember when I went to the beach when I was a kid diving for sandollars. At night (as weird as it sounds) it would feel like I was still going up and under the water. Or maybe it's more related to the muscles themselves than the brain?