Numbers Possibly Handled Differently Than A-Z In The Brain

Scanning for numbers in a body of text feels easier than scanning for words.

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By. Jacob

Edited: 2020-08-06 11:29

I noticed something interesting when reading text on the internet; the interesting thing is that I will often "scan" text for particular strings that I am looking for, and one thing that seems easier for me is when I am scanning for numbers within the text.

When I do this, I have this clear sensation in my mind, that numbers is different from text, and they also stand out more from the text on the page. It is possibly the same that happens when looking for a particular shape among other shapes, a bit like scanning the board when playing a game of Mahjong. The sensation I get is the same anyway.

My guess as to why this happens is that numbers must be stored differently in my memory. It does not feel like it matters what the number is that I am looking for, or where it is located within a body of text — it will simply stand out more from the rest of the data; this could possibly be because numbers simply look different than text. But, it might also depend on the font used on the website I am visiting.

But, I think the same also happens when scanning for a particular word. It is just harder, and it seems to require more focus.

Anyway, it this is just an interesting observation, I am just throwing this one "out there" in case anyone might find it useful.