It has been long thought that one of the characteristics that makes humans unique is our ability to learn and manipulate symbols for communication. However, this notion is starting to slowly unravel.

As the semanticist S.I. Hayakawa stressed in his classic book Language in Thought and Action, words are not the things they represent. Words are symbols. It’s the manipulation of those symbols that ...

Mathematics might seem intimidating at first glance, but understanding its symbols is like learning to read a new language, one that opens doors to science, technology, and logical thinking. Whether ...

Before the 16th century, most math equations were written as metered verse. Thank god for graphic-design-inclined mathematicians.

Apparently, a not-so-funny thing happened on elementary students’ way to higher mathematics — most of them were left without a proper understanding of the equal sign. This problem can get in the way ...

Taken very literally, not all students are created equal -- especially in their math learning skills, say researchers who have found that not fully understanding the "equal sign" in a math problem ...