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trickykittyI would like to see comparison MRIs of someone like me who knows ten-key by touch and has been using an adding machine for years and who also worked check proof/encoding for a couple years. I'd specifically like to see comparisons of adding a bunch of numbers versus adding the numbers written out in word form (as how they are written out on checks).
It would be really interesting and telling to see where the overlap is, namely the number recognition point that translates into the (now) auto-response of my fingers on the adding machine.
When adding up a list of numbers, I tend to not "say" the numbers to myself in my head. But when reading the written out words of the numbers, I still have to "translate" the words into "numbers" before my fingers will respond. I cannot visually see the word and not say it to myself before my fingers will move, whereas when adding a list of numbers, my eyes view the number and it translates almost instantly to finger movement without me cognizantly realizing what I'm entering. The only time my other brain areas get involved is when I make a mistake.
I imagine the process is very similar to learning a second language. Most people don't learn a second, third, etc. language the same way they learned their primary language. Instead, words in the new language get translated into words in the primary language before the brain recognizes the content and meaning of the word. This changes over time as the person becomes more fluent in the additional language(s) and/or starts being able to "think" (and dream) in the additional language(s).
It would be really interesting and telling to see where the overlap is, namely the number recognition point that translates into the (now) auto-response of my fingers on the adding machine.
When adding up a list of numbers, I tend to not "say" the numbers to myself in my head. But when reading the written out words of the numbers, I still have to "translate" the words into "numbers" before my fingers will respond. I cannot visually see the word and not say it to myself before my fingers will move, whereas when adding a list of numbers, my eyes view the number and it translates almost instantly to finger movement without me cognizantly realizing what I'm entering. The only time my other brain areas get involved is when I make a mistake.
I imagine the process is very similar to learning a second language. Most people don't learn a second, third, etc. language the same way they learned their primary language. Instead, words in the new language get translated into words in the primary language before the brain recognizes the content and meaning of the word. This changes over time as the person becomes more fluent in the additional language(s) and/or starts being able to "think" (and dream) in the additional language(s).
