Why am I bad at maths?
When CrowdScience listener Israel from Papua New Guinea received a bad grade on a maths test in third grade, he looked around the class and realised that almost all the other students had received a better result. Since then, he has always wondered: why are some people better at maths than others? \n \nAnd Israel isn\u2019t the only one to think about this: our listeners from all over the world describe their relationships with numbers, which run the full gamut from love to hate. \n \nSo are we all in control of our own mathematical fate, or are some people just naturally bad at it? Presenter Anand Jagatia hears about studies of identical and non-identical twins showing how genetics and environment interact to shape our mathematical abilities. \n \nOur numerical abilities are not set in stone. It\u2019s always possible to improve, and getting rid of negative feelings and anxiety around maths could be the key, says psychologist Iro Xenidou-Dervou. \n \nSome countries seem to support children\u2019s maths skills better than others. China and Finland both rank highly in international league tables; education experts in both countries discuss whether there are any keys to a successful mathematics education. \n \nAnd there is something underlying our ability to do maths in the first place: our number sense. We hear what happens when this number sense does not work as intended \u2013 and what can be done about it. \n \nContributors: \nProfessor Yulia Kovas \u2013 Goldsmiths University of London, UK \nProfessor Pekka R\xe4s\xe4nen \u2013 University of Turku, Finland \nAssistant Professor Zhenzhen Miao \u2013 Jiangxi Normal University, China \nDr Iro Xenidou-Dervou \u2013 Loughborough University, UK \nProfessor Brian Butterworth \u2013 University College London, UK \n \nPresented by Anand Jagatia \nProduced by Florian Bohr \nEditor: Cathy Edwards \nProduction Co-ordinator: Liz Tuohy \nStudio Manager: Jackie Margerum
(Photo: Boy scratching head in front of blackboard. Credit: Jose Luis Pelaez Inc/Getty Images)