EXERCISE YOUR BRAIN WITH MATH
The
average human working brain can store around 90 trillion bits of information. That
is just less than 1 percent of its capacity, which an ordinary humans are able
to use. You would need a computer to have 11,250 gigabytes of memory for that. Imagine
using more than 1 percent!
The
human brain ages and shrinks because of the reduced communication between
neurons. According to scientific studies, it starts at the age of 40, but
accelerates at 60, the retirement age. This is mostly the time when the
person’s brain is no longer challenge by activities. This causes the slowing
down of cognitive processing. This is why neuroscientists recommend puzzle
solving and multitasking for people aged 60 and above. So that the neurons in
their brain will not get stagnant and revitalize.
Many
neuroscientists say that solving mathematical problems is the best way to help
improve brain neural function. It doesn’t matter if the person can or cannot
solve the problem, what matters is that he is thinking or trying to think of
ways to solve the problem. It makes the neurons in the brain communicate, and
the more they interact, the healthier the brain. Mathematics, because of its
many intricacies, helps rejuvenate the brain by promoting neuroplasticity (the
brain’s ability to form neural connection), revitalizing existing pathways (as
in recalling past knowledge, like the ones we learned in school or from
experiences, or from learning new things), and increasing gray matters in key
regions of the brain, which is very vital to mental health. It functions as the
central processing unit of the entire nervous system, which handles information
storage, cognitive response, motor and sensory control, emotional and
behavioral regulation.
It’s
like this: You start out with Math and it branches out to everything else that
you do. Come to think of it, everything in life has Math in it, and nothing
moves in the universe without Math.
Galileo
once said that “Mathematics is a gift from GOD” and it is “the language with
which GOD has written the universe.” We should cherish it! Who knows, we may
still learn new things. For life is an ever learning endeavor.
