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More math...
Oct. 22nd, 2007 08:45 amOne, two, three, many, LOTS!
I'm reading a book about numbers right now that's so old the recommendation on the back was written by Albert Einstein. (Well, I'm reading the 1954 edition, he probably read the original edition in 1930.) It's cool because it's not only talking about the idea that primitive peoples don't understand numbers past three, it's also citing the anthropological research that makes the assertion. Chances are that no matter where or when you grew up, your brain didn't come wired to comprehend numbers over three either. Neither do most other creatures' brains. Some birds, some insects, and people -- the "number sense" doesn't even show up in dogs, and when it does show up, it's limited. (Although I wonder what the research since the book might tell us about dolphins.) What even "primitive" peoples DO understand though, is the concept of "just enough", or what the math geeks call "one to one matching," and that -- plus our fingers, is what led us to the numbers we have today. (Very simply, if you have a bunch of chairs and a bunch of people, you have "just enough" chairs if every person is sitting and there are no extra chairs or extra people.)
( Handfuls, bunches, and the beginning of numbers )
I'm reading a book about numbers right now that's so old the recommendation on the back was written by Albert Einstein. (Well, I'm reading the 1954 edition, he probably read the original edition in 1930.) It's cool because it's not only talking about the idea that primitive peoples don't understand numbers past three, it's also citing the anthropological research that makes the assertion. Chances are that no matter where or when you grew up, your brain didn't come wired to comprehend numbers over three either. Neither do most other creatures' brains. Some birds, some insects, and people -- the "number sense" doesn't even show up in dogs, and when it does show up, it's limited. (Although I wonder what the research since the book might tell us about dolphins.) What even "primitive" peoples DO understand though, is the concept of "just enough", or what the math geeks call "one to one matching," and that -- plus our fingers, is what led us to the numbers we have today. (Very simply, if you have a bunch of chairs and a bunch of people, you have "just enough" chairs if every person is sitting and there are no extra chairs or extra people.)
( Handfuls, bunches, and the beginning of numbers )
