Learning mathematics can and should be enjoyable.

Reproduction of Marcelo Viana's column in Folha de S. Paulo.

Neurological research shows that the human brain is very flexible and can be shaped in many ways through learning. No one is born "in the sciences" or "in the humanities"; these are labels generated by education. So why do so many people fear mathematics, including successful individuals? How can we develop the mathematical potential we are all born with?

In her famous work "Fluency Without Fear: Research Shows the Best Ways to Learn Mathematical Facts," Professor Jo Boaler of Stanford University in the United States provides several clues. Some of her motivations are linked to education in Anglo-Saxon countries, but her ideas are also relevant to our reality.

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Fluency in mathematics is acquired through experimentation with content-rich situations that develop a sense of patterns, such as number, shape, volume, or structure. "It's helpful to memorize some things," says Professor Boaler, "but it's important that this happens through reasoning in different contexts, not through repetition without understanding."

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