You can count on it

One, Two, Three, Four.

Uno, Dos, Tres, Cuatro.

Numbers are such absolutes, the bedrock of what we know, of how we think. We count the ways of loving and measure out our lives in numbers. So it’s only common sense that these must appeal on a similar level (of pure reason) in each and every listener worldwide – no matter if the audience is in St. Louis or Shanghai. Right?

Not so, reports the Chinese People’s Daily Online. Significant cultural differences exist in the way we process numbers.

Despite using the same numerals in computing, English and Chinese speakers displayed different brain activities in processing them, according to a new study conducted by a China-US research team. For example, the participants might have been shown symbols of an erect scythe and a cleaver and asked to figure out the visual orientation of a tilted knife in relation to the first two.

Right there, the dispassionate focus of the researcher betrays a deep cultural bias. While mental images of erect scythes, cleavers and a tilted knives would draw a blank in most westerners (with the possible exception of those of us who live in San Francisco and are habitues of the Power Exchange ) for the Chinese this is a valid area of research where numbers are represented by pictograms.

Since Chinese characters are more visual that Arabic numbers the brain activity required to process these vastly different written codes are significant.

This is yet another reason to eschew text and numbers in your Powerpoint when presenting at home or abroad. Stick to photographs and images that have more universal appeal. The audience will understand you better. You can count on it.

You can count on it

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