Have you ever realised you are doing geometry while helping somebody find their way to an unfamiliarplace? If not, think now about what makes the turns, curves, slopes and straights. And if you do not feel afraid to show directions, then why fear mathematics? Like language, mathematics can be a way of expression, provided you do not take it as a means of operating numbers using symbols.

This is what T V Raman, the visually-impaired computer scientist with Google Research, said to allay the fear of mathematics in children who too are fighting the hurdles of vision impairment.

The summer camp for visually-challenged school students organised by Chakshumathi Charitable Trust had a different kind of culmination in the city on Monday where the guest and audience never saw each other, but interacted by speaking to each other in a Google Plus live audio-video chat.

One among the listeners was Mani, who finished his plus-two with A-plus in all subjects and is awaiting results to get an entry into IIT Madras.

Though maintaining a passion to learning mathematics, the challenge of vision made him opt for economics.

So, one thing he wanted to know from Raman was this: “In the 1970s you were able to get into an IIT and learn mathematics. But people like us are not encouraged by the institutions these days, why?”

What Raman gave in reply was that the picture in the 1970s was no different, for what he first encountered in the IIT too was a statement that there was no facility there to teach him. Because, “they don’t know what you are capable of.” He approached the dean, asked for a chance to make him sit for the entrance examination to prove himself and get an entry.

To aid him, Raman had a scribe, whom he himself had trained to interpret the questions accompanied with diagrams. And he says, till date, other than a scribe, no advancements have happened to help the visually-challenged students.

Then, another question popped up on why people with visual disability should learn maths? The answer from the Rubik’s Cube expert came in a jiffy: “The reason is the same for why the sighted people learn mathematics.”

After he signed off the session that lasted nearly an hour, the organisers threw a question at the children’s gathering, asking those who wish to pursue science to come to the front.

From the 35 students, 15 rose from their seats and moved near the dais. There they began their first encounter with the wonder world of science, heading towards a science lab in the city for doing experiments.

SOURCE: The Indian Express