Mathivation Research Lab Where Mathematics meets Human Experience

THIS IS TOO MUCH! - Part 22 When Words Went Completely Wrong! A Mathivation Research Lab Initiative  Sometimes the problem isn't what you say. It's what the other person hears! There is a strange mathematics of conversation. You say one thing. Someone hears something else. A third person interprets it differently. And before you know it… the situation has gone completely TOO MUCH! As children, we loved jokes based on such misunderstandings. A word had one meaning. Someone heard another meaning. And suddenly an ordinary conversation became a full-blown comedy! Here are a few childhood favourites that still make me smile. But first, an important note. A STRONG DISCLAIMER - PLEASE READ The humour in this article is based on miscommunication, wordplay, mistaken interpretation and comic timing . It is not intended to mock, imitate, ridicule or stereotype people who stammer, have speech difficulties, communicate differently, or come from any particular region or ling...

STRANGE MATH - PART 7 The Strange Mathematics of the Human Body   Why Does Your Mouth Read Silently? Have you ever noticed something strange while reading? You are sitting quietly. Nobody is speaking. Your room is silent. Yet, somewhere inside your head, the words seem to have a voice. Sometimes your lips move slightly. Sometimes your tongue makes tiny movements. Sometimes your throat seems to prepare the words. And sometimes there is absolutely no visible movement at all. Yet you can still "hear" yourself reading. Welcome to Strange Math - Part 7 , where we enter one of the most fascinating places in mathematics: the human body. STRANGE OPENING QUESTION If your eyes are reading, why does your mouth sometimes join the conversation? You are not talking to anyone. You are not making a sound. So who is your tongue talking to? And when you read a sentence silently... who is saying the words inside your head? THE AMAZING FACT The phenomenon is called subvocal...