Chapter 10: Mathematics For The Exceptional Child

There is a popular belief that mathematics can on the whole only be learnt by those who have a special gift for this subject. Such a gift is known as mathematical ability. It is argued that just as some people can paint beautiful pictures, others can write beautiful music, others yet can write poetry, and others are capable of the mysterious activity known as “doing mathematics.” Very few people would be able to substantiate these opinions except on statistical grounds, namely that there are very few such people in the population, consequently there must be only a few who have the corresponding gifts. Surely, if one is to be reasonably logical in the matter, one would have to say simply that under present circumstances there are rather few people who can achieve what we now call excellence in the above fields, and admit ignorance as to the reasons.