And those who find the numbers never add up shouldn’t feel too dim – mathematical talent does not appear to be linked to all-round intelligence。

　　US psychologists at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore made their finding after testing children too young to have been taught mathematics。

　　During the study, 200 four-year-olds viewed flashing groups of blue and yellow dots on a computer screen and were asked which colour was shown the most。

　　The children then had to count items on a page, determine which of two numbers was greater or lesser, as well as read numbers。

　　They were also tested on calculation skills, such as multiplication. The participants' parents were then asked about their child’s vocabulary。

　　The verbal test was done because language and maths abilities are thought to be linked through general intelligence. The researchers wanted to be sure success in maths was not part of an ability to perform better in all sorts of tasks or to some children feeling more comfortable being tested than others。

　　The results showed that children who got the best score in the dots test were also the most competent at the maths tests。

　　Dr Melissa Libertus, who led the study, said: "Previous studies testing older children left open the possibility that maths lessons determined number sense. In other words, some children looked like they had better number sense simply because they had better maths instruction."

　　"Unlike those studies, this one shows that the link between number sense and maths ability is already present before the beginning of formal maths instruction. One of the most important questions is whether we can train a child’s number sense to improving his future maths ability，" she added。

　　The finding was published in the journal Developmental Science。

　　据英国《每日邮报》8月10日报道，一项新研究发现：某人擅长或者不擅长数学可能完全由先天因素决定，而获得这种能力的概率也是随机的。

　　但是，那些不擅长进行加法运算的人也不必沮丧，数学方面的才能并不能与各方面的智力都扯上关系。

　　位于美国巴尔的摩的约翰霍金斯大学的心理学家们通过测试年龄过小而未接受数学教育的孩子，得出了上述结论。

　　在研究过程中，200名4岁的儿童观看了在电脑屏幕上闪烁着的蓝点和黄点，之后，他们被问到哪种颜色的点的数量最多。

　　孩子们将在纸上计算出数量，决定两者哪个更多，哪个更少，还要说出数字。

　　研究人员还测试了他们乘法等计算技巧，并从参与者父母那儿了解了他们孩子的词汇掌握情况。

　　进行词汇测试是因为通常人们认为，在一般的智力中，语言能力和数学能力相互关联。研究人员想确认：数学方面的天赋并不能使人们胜任各种任务，或者让某些孩子比他人更会应对考试。

　　结果证明，那些在数点测试中成绩最好的孩子在数学测试中得分也最高。

　　领导这项研究的蒙丽莎-里伯途斯说：“先前针对年纪更大的孩子做的研究让人们认为数学训练更有可能决定数字感。就是说，一些孩子因为接受了更好的数学指导而拥有了更好的数字感。”

　　“与先前的研究不同，此次结果表明，在儿童接受正式的数学教育之前，他们的数字感和数学才能已经建立了联系。最重要的问题之一是，我们能否通过训练儿童的数字感以提升其日后的数学才能。”她补充道。

　　该发现发表于《发展科学》杂志上。