'A multicolour dream cured my maths anxiety'

From simple to complex equations, maths can be stressful for anyone who finds it confusing.

One artist believes he may have found a way to help people with maths anxiety or dyscalculia by unlocking numbers and transforming them into art.

The Multicolour Maths method came to Brook Tate in a dream after being inspired by mathematician Alan Turing.

He has trialled it in schools and presented it to PhD students, Oxbridge professors and engineers and is now convinced it will "open doors in education" for millions of people.

Mr Tate, who lives in Bristol, said his idea took shape when considering how his "deep fear of maths" had stopped him from pursuing his life goals.

"I wanted to be a children's nurse, but I couldn't pass the maths test," he said.

On a visit to his family home in St Leonards-on-sea in Hastings he discovered Alan Turing had grown up nearby.

He sat on a bench dedicated to the academic and said he “had a strange emotional feeling” and wrote a letter to him in his journal asking how he could conquer his fear of maths through art and music.

After days of drafting up ideas and concepts that did not work, he went on a trip to Munroe Island in India to work with children.

"My brain was going into overdrive and started decoding my ideas subconsciously - then my life changed," he said.

That night he dreamt of numbers represented by colours in shapes and repeating kaleidoscope-like patterns.

"I woke up and thought, 'That's maths, I don't know how, but that is maths'," Mr Tate said.

The method he created uses a key of 10 colours attributed to numbers 0-9, that can be used to form equations.

The colours can be represented by any shape and placed in any direction to form multiplication, subtraction, addition and division equations.

Once arranged, the visual equation can be formed into complex mandala-like creations or simple drawings.

According to OECD data, 57.4% of English adults have numeracy skills equivalent to or lower than Level 2 (UK Entry Level 3, expected at age 9 – 11).

National Numeracy also found that struggling with numbers can make people more vulnerable to debt, unemployment, poor health and fraud and impacts mental health and opportunities.

In light of this, Mr Tate said his method could be life-changing for adults and children who need that extra maths support.

"The combination of colour pattern and design is something that keeps people calm. Now that I can connect with that, I understand the world in a different way," he said.

"I love maths now, it's cured my maths anxiety. Maths for me is now like an endless poem and song."

Mr Tate has trialled the method in workshops with adults and pupils at Callicroft Primary Academy, in Bristol.

"Within half an hour they understood the main principles," he said.

Teacher Luke Guest said: "In year four there's a big government pressure for the children to understand their times tables," he said.

"I believe it's going to help them. I really believe if they're enjoying the learning it will stick."

Oxford University mathematician Tom Crawford, also known as online content creator Tom Rocks Maths said: "There will be a very large group of people who through their childhood into adults haven't got on with maths because numbers don't make sense to them," he said.

"The fact you can then present it to them and say, 'We're just going to talk about different colours', is exciting.

"I'd be interested to create a more formal study with adults and children to see how it affects their outcomes with learning maths."

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