All mental processes should take form in pictures. The adding of 4 and 7 should be seen in the mind's eye, if the problem is not written down. A parent tells the story of his difficulty with his son and this simple problem. The child got the idea fixed in his mind that 4 and 7 were 12. The father had told the boy that the answer was 11, and had the child repeat, 4 and 7 are 11, several times. But the original impression was still the stronger, and the next day, when asked by the father, "How many are 4 and 7?" the child's answer was 12. In some way this impression had become a very strong one and was recalled before the weaker one of the correct answer, 11. The idea of visualization was brought to the father's attention during the day by his having attended a lesson in Memory Training given by the author. That evening he called the boy to him and said, "Son, how many are 4 and 7 tonight?" He received the same incorrect answer, 12. Then he took a piece of paper and wrote upon it the figures in exaggerated size, as illustrated on the right. He had the boy look at the problem for a moment and then look away and see it in his mind's eye, then look at the problem again. Thus he placed a visual impression of the correct answer in the child's mind and this became the stronger of the two impressions and was never forgotten. The next morning the father asked the boy the same question, "How many are 4 and 7?" and the answer was promptly given, "Eleven." "Why, I can just see those figures in my mind and I never will forget that." 4 7 -- 11 This experience is the natural result of using the stronger sense of sight in preference to the weaker one of hearing. The conscious use of the mind's eye faculty in his arithmetic lessons brought this boy from the bottom of his class up to a reasonable grade in a very short time. Do not overlook the value of visualization. It can be applied with helpful results in any lesson or problem. The Mental Blackboard The child can easily learn to visualize his problems in mental arithmetic if he will begin while young. This is especially true if you have used the exercises for visualization given in the First Book. Those on mind's eye counting and the Number and Letter games are especially helpful. Their importance now becomes apparent, and if you have neglected them it will be well to go back and use them now. Encourage the child to see the figures in exaggerated size on an imaginary blackboard; see large white figures on the blackboard. As soon as the problem is given, let the ear impression become a mind's eye picture, as illustrated. The use of this visual method is gradually being recognized as being valuable, and will in the future come into general use. Give your children the advantage and have them use it now. 7 5 -- 12 ×2 -- 24 Exercises in Manipulation