Inside Trump's new weird obsession with the number 22

[Lithos]

1. Perserevation

Why numbers in particular?
• Numbers are relatively over-learned, compact symbols that can stay accessible even as language and memory degrade, so they may be easier to “grab” than a full sentence
• Once a specific number becomes the habitual answer, impaired executive control (frontal lobe dysfunction) makes it hard to inhibit that response and generate a new one.
• This kind of compulsive or repetitive responding is especially associated with frontotemporal and frontal-involving dementias, where inhibition and cognitive flexibility are hit early.

The key point: the number itself rarely has deep hidden meaning; it’s more a symptom of the response-selection machinery breaking down.