Citizen Science Spotlight: Panamath
Ah, numbers. They are (in)famous for exciting statisticians, confusing toddlers, and occasionally petrifying high school students.
Growing up, you learn how to count to ten. You learn how to complete basic computations with numbers, such as addition and subtraction. Numbers and you are like old friends from childhood. You know them inside out…
Or do you?
Meet Panamath
Hailing from the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at the Johns Hopkins University, the researchers at Panamath are on a quest to figure out just how well you understand numbers. Specifically, Panamath measures your number sense and approximate number system (ANS) aptitude.
In other words, how well you can intuitively recognize numbers and their relationships all without knowing any precise values.
Why does number sense matter?
We guesstimate numerical values all the time. When there’s a jar of jellybeans, you try to figure out how many there are so that you win the guessing contest. When you walk into a crowded movie theater, you quickly survey the dark room to find the quietest area. Having this “number gut” is helpful, especially when making decisions on the fly. It empowers us to choose the most efficient course to take in everyday situations.
How do they even measure that?
The answer is simple: citizen science. For a brief moment, volunteer researchers are presented with differing quantities of blue and yellow circles. Their job is to determine which colored group had more. Afterward, citizen scientists can view their performance and see how they compare to others in the same age group. Easy.
Any findings?
From three-year-olds to adults in their early 80s, over 100,000 people have volunteered to contribute. Research is still ongoing, but current data reveals a dramatic increase in the precision of our number sense across a lifespan, progressing through a gradual decline in late adulthood.
The Weber fraction is used to measure how precise a person’s ANS is. The lower the number, the better the precision.
How can this make society better?
Research suggests that there may be a correlation between students’ approximate number sense and their achievement in school mathematics. Through Panamath, we can gain a better understanding of how to measure number sense, thereby helping educators improve lesson plans in math classes.
So what are you waiting for?
Visit Panamath today and advance the field of cognitive psychology— together.
