The Concept of Mathemagenic Activities

Abstract

Psychologists write from time to time in human language. Some years ago, I submitted the report of an experiment about mathemagenic behavior to a journal. The article started with the sentence, You can lead a horse to water but the only water that gets into his stomach is what he drinks. The editor, probably judging this to be too alimentary, deleted the sentence. I regretted this not only because the little phrase pleased me but also because the problem of the not-drinking horse was and is a useful metaphor for explaining why the study of mathemagenic activities is a challenging enterprise for the educational psychologist.