[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-588759-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":80,"doc-detail-588759-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":73,"head_meta":75,"extra_data":77,"updated_unix":79},105,"en","what-do-people-like-about-mathematics-ionica-smeets","What do people like about mathematics? - Ionica Smeets","","In this discussion paper, adults’ questions about numbers are examined, showing that many concerns extend beyond pure mathematics into personal, cultural, and societal issues. The study connects mathematical topics with what people care about, using science communication theory and narratives to make mathematics feel personal. It also explores demonstrations through games and multiple ways of presenting the same problem across different societal contexts.",{"@graph":14,"@context":72},[15,34,55],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/what-do-people-like-about-mathematics-ionica-smeets/588759/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/what-do-people-like-about-mathematics-ionica-smeets/588759.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Chumphorn","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-29","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":33},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",{"@type":56,"mainEntity":57},"FAQPage",[58,64,68],{"name":59,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":61},"Why do adults ask questions about numbers that go beyond pure mathematics?","Question",{"text":62,"@type":63},"Many adult questions reflect personal, cultural, or societal concerns rather than interest in mathematics alone.","Answer",{"name":65,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":66},"How did Alex Bellos collect information about people’s favourite numbers?",{"text":67,"@type":63},"He asked the public for their favourite number through a website and invited them to explain why they liked it.",{"name":69,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":70},"How were readers’ questions organized in the study?",{"text":71,"@type":63},"Responses were coded using grounded theory principles, grouped into concepts, and then combined into six overarching categories.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":74,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":76,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":78,"site_id":7},588759,1792208601,{"code":4,"msg":81,"data":82},"success",[83,87,91,95,100,105,110,114,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":84,"show_sort_weight":85,"slug":86},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":88,"show_sort_weight":89,"slug":90},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":92,"show_sort_weight":93,"slug":94},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":96,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":97,"show_sort_weight":98,"slug":99},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":101,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":102,"show_sort_weight":103,"slug":104},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":106,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":107,"show_sort_weight":108,"slug":109},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":111,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},8,30,"research-report",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":96,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":81,"data":131},{"doc_id":78,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":111,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":33,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":106,"language":139,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":143,"read_time":144,"preview_page_count":4},2336475401981,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/22000c94efd8d5204d?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1786935347598174694","What do people like about mathematics?  \nIonica Smeets  \nLeiden University-IBL-Sylvius Building  \nScience Communication & Society  \n\u003C[i.smeets@biology.leidenuniv.nl](i.smeets@biology.leidenuniv.nl)>  \nAbstract  \nIn this discussion paper we look at questions that adults have about numbers. Many of their questions are not about pure mathematics, but about personal, cultural or societal issues. We discuss how to connect mathematical topics with things people are interested in, based on theoretic knowledge from the field of science communication. We focus on using narratives to make mathematics more personal, how to use games as demonstrations and different ways to present the same mathematical problem in different societal settings.  \nIntroduction  \nWhen I tell people I studied mathematics, the most common responses are ‘I was very bad at maths in school’ or a plain ‘Really? I hate mathematics.’ However, when you actually talk to people, it turns out that quite a few of them are in fact quite keen on learning more about mathematics. And adults consistently name mathematics as the school subject with the most value to their lives (Gallup, 2013) .  \nIn science communication it is very important to talk with your target group instead of talking about them (Arnstein, 1969) . This paper discusses what kind of mathematics the general public is interested in by asking them questions about numbers via mass media.  \nLet’s just ask people what they like  \nIn 2011 the British journalist and mathematician Alex Bellos asked people what their favourite number is (Bellos, 2014) . He set up a website where people could send in their favourite and tell him why they liked this number.  \nOver 44,000 people responded and Bellos reported that the world’s favourite number is 7, with 3 and 8 as runners up. Almost half of the submissions were for a number between 1 and 10 and the lowest whole number that did not receive any votes was 110. The most common reason for picking a favourite number was it being a birthday. Even more interesting were the properties that people connected with their favourite numbers: 7 was described as sacred, magical, good, unalterable, overconfident and awkward. While 8 was called neat, feminine, reliable, kind, unassuming and huggable. People seemed to anthropomorphize numbers and ascribe entire personalities to them. This begged for a follow-up question where people could explain more about which numbers matter to them personally.  \nA broader question  \nSince 2014 I have been writing a weekly column for the national paper De Volkskrant under the title Ionica saw a number. Every week I discuss a number that was somehow in the news, the column can be about anything from politics to literature and from classic math puzzles to recent research. I often get suggestions from readers, or nice additional information about the subjects I wrote about. About a quarter of my columns are inspired by reader’s suggestions.  \nIn my 100th column I decided to something similar to what Alex Bellos did: I asked people which number they thought deserved its own column and why (Smeets, 2017) . Readers could send in their suggestions by e-mail. I promised to write my 101th column about one of their suggestions.  \nThe response  \nWithin one weekend the question yielded 203 responses from readers. Their suggestions ranged from very funny to very serious. A fun question came from someone who wanted to know if there was anything interesting about the number six, since Bert proclaims in Sesame Street that his favourite number is six and Ernie keeps protesting that six is a very boring number. A more serious question came from a reader who was wondering why the Dutch House of Representatives has 150 seats. Why was this number chosen? Should the number of seats be expanded as the population grows? And do other countries use a similar ratio of representatives compared to the population?  \nOne of the most serious questions, and the one I wrote my next column","cbCaigNWgmUVCQPJ","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaigNWgmUVCQPJ","pdf",256132,"English","# Abstract\n# Introduction\n# Let’s just ask people what they like\n# A broader question\n# The response\n# Categories of responses","[{\"question\":\"Why do adults ask questions about numbers that go beyond pure mathematics?\",\"answer\":\"Many adult questions reflect personal, cultural, or societal concerns rather than interest in mathematics alone.\"},{\"question\":\"How did Alex Bellos collect information about people’s favourite numbers?\",\"answer\":\"He asked the public for their favourite number through a website and invited them to explain why they liked it.\"},{\"question\":\"How were readers’ questions organized in the study?\",\"answer\":\"Responses were coded using grounded theory principles, grouped into concepts, and then combined into six overarching categories.\"}]","What do people like about mathematics? - Ionica Smeets | PDF",1792065882,18]