The quadratic equation may have ___1___ horror in many of us. But for some 5 to 7 percent of the population even basic math—like the concept of the numbers 5 and 7—causes ___2___. You may never have heard of the disorder called dyscalculia, yet it’s as common as dyslexia, according to research in the journal Science.

Dyscalculia means “___3___” which is ironic since those who suffer from it need to count often. Here’s what I mean: They can only tell that a playing card is a number eight by counting the number of objects on the card. If asked to count down from 10 they count up from 1 to 10, then 1 to 9, then 1 to 8, etcetera. ___4___. Estimates are hard, too. Asked the height of a room, they might guess 200 feet.

According to researchers dyscalculia is inherited, and specific abnormalities in the brain might be a cause. Despite their challenge, many become ___5___ at geometry, stats and computer programming. With the right teaching—that focuses for example on using beads to improve the processing of numbers—they can count themselves among the math literate.
【视听版科学小组荣誉出品】
instilled anxiety counting badly Paying with cash is a nightmare. proficient
恐怕有很多人都对二次方程望而生畏吧...可是你知道么，世界上有5%-7%的人面对最基本的算术也会紧张焦虑。你可能没听说过计算失能症这吧，据《科学》杂志上的相关研究所说，其实它阅读障碍症一样普遍。 计算失能即不会数数，很悲剧的是，患有计算失能症的人却无法逃离反复数数的命运。因为他们只能通过数牌面上有几个标记来判断这张牌代表数字几。假如要他们从10开始倒数，他们先要从1数到10，再从1数到9，再从1数到8……要他们付钱简直就是要他们的命。此外，估算对他们来说也是难事一件。要问他们一间房有多高，他们估算出来会有200英尺那么高。 研究人员表示，计算失能是遗传病，大脑某处异常很可能是计算失能的诱因。尽管数数有障碍，但他们却能在几何学、统计学、计算机编程领域有很大造诣。在正确的教学方法引导下（比如用弹珠来强化数数能力等），他们也能够读出数字来。