arithmomania

noun

arith·​mo·​ma·​nia ə-ˌrith-mō-ˈmā-nē-ə, -nyə How to pronounce arithmomania (audio)
: an abnormal compulsion to count objects or actions and make mathematical calculations
… one finds that this arithmomania is, as it were, the surface of a more fundamental compulsion, which has to do with order and disorder: the need to order, disorder, reorder; the contemplation of order, disorder, new order. Arithmomania has to do with arithmetical order …Oliver Sacks, Awakenings

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Cite this Entry

“Arithmomania.” Merriam-Webster.com Medical Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/medical/arithmomania. Accessed 27 Apr. 2024.

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