I wonder if there's anything I can do with my children to prevent them from being bound by this mental limitation? I would try to explain to them that numbers

I wonder if there's anything I can do with my children to prevent them from being bound by this mental limitation? I would try to explain to them that numbers are a framework for us to understand both the observable universe and abstract ideas, depending on what we're using them for. Like you said, it's hard for people to understand that numbers have multiple representations and to grasp the implications of those representations. I think that if you can communicate that different representations can have the same meaning, accepting those representations when they come across them may be easier. Or, if they're experienced enough with math, I think going through Euler's identity in addition to the link could help. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euler%27s_identity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euler%27s_identity