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A Brain for Numbers: The Biology of the Number Instinct
How our intuitive understanding of numbers is deeply rooted in our biology, traceable through both evolution and development. Humans' understanding of numbers is intuitive. Infants are able to estimate and calculate even before they learn the words for numbers. How have we come to possess this talent for numbers? In A Brain for Numbers , Andreas Nieder explains how our brains process numbers. He reports that numerical competency is deeply rooted in our biological ancestry; it can be traced through both the evolution of our species and the development of our individual minds. It is not, as it has been traditionally explained, based on our ability to use language. We owe our symbolic mathematical skills to the nonsymbolic numerical abilities that we inherited from our ancestors. The principles of mathematics, Nieder tells us, are reflections of the innate dispositions wired into the brain. Nieder explores how the workings of the brain give rise to numerical competence, tracing flair for numbers to dedicated “number neurons” in the brain. Drawing on a range of methods including brain imaging techniques, behavioral experiments, and twin studies, he outlines a new, integrated understanding of the talent for numbers. Along the way, he compares the numerical capabilities of humans and animals, and discusses the benefits animals reap from such a capability. He shows how the neurobiological roots of the brain's nonverbal quantification capacity are the evolutionary foundation of more elaborate numerical skills. He discusses how number signs and symbols are represented in the brain; calculation capability and the “neuromythology” of mathematical genius; the “start-up tools” for counting and developmental of dyscalculia (a number disorder analogous to the reading disorder dyslexia); and how the brain processes the abstract concept of zero.
392 pages, Hardcover
Published November 19, 2019
11 people are currently reading
193 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 14, 2019
In dramas it's not usual for someone dumping a partner to say 'It's not you, it's me,' - and that's how I felt about this book. I'm sure some readers would find it really interesting, but it didn't work for me.
I think the main problem is that that I'm interested in maths, but not so much in how human and animal brains handle numbers. So I found the opening and closing chapters, which deal with the nature of numbers (specifically zero in that closing chapter) I enjoyed, but the vast majority of the book explores the design of experiments to try to understand how animals perceive numbers (or don't), what we can learn from them, and how animals' and our brains react to numbers.
As soon as I see a map of the brain, I'm afraid I turn off - there's an element of Richard Feynman's famous complaint about biology students wasting their time learning the names of all the bits in a cat's nervous system. However, if you are interested in how the brain responds to numbers (we're talking specifically whole counting numbers here), then I've no doubt the book would prove more interesting.
I don't think it helped that there's some quite heavyweight language used, which my eyes tend to bounce off. After a while I struggle to keep going when this is the case. I've just opened the book at random and the first sentence I came across was 'This study showed stable neural representations of sequential numerosities [sic] across visual and auditory modalities.'
For the right audience - I suspect biology students wanting to explore this area further - this is undoubtedly a great book. But it didn't do it for me.
I think the main problem is that that I'm interested in maths, but not so much in how human and animal brains handle numbers. So I found the opening and closing chapters, which deal with the nature of numbers (specifically zero in that closing chapter) I enjoyed, but the vast majority of the book explores the design of experiments to try to understand how animals perceive numbers (or don't), what we can learn from them, and how animals' and our brains react to numbers.
As soon as I see a map of the brain, I'm afraid I turn off - there's an element of Richard Feynman's famous complaint about biology students wasting their time learning the names of all the bits in a cat's nervous system. However, if you are interested in how the brain responds to numbers (we're talking specifically whole counting numbers here), then I've no doubt the book would prove more interesting.
I don't think it helped that there's some quite heavyweight language used, which my eyes tend to bounce off. After a while I struggle to keep going when this is the case. I've just opened the book at random and the first sentence I came across was 'This study showed stable neural representations of sequential numerosities [sic] across visual and auditory modalities.'
For the right audience - I suspect biology students wanting to explore this area further - this is undoubtedly a great book. But it didn't do it for me.
March 13, 2024
Many would assume that only humans have the ability to comprehend numerical quantities but that is not the case!
There are several animals that seem to understand numerocity. We can see this when they observing their choices between more or less food/ predators/ mates. It seems that this ability to tell apart more from less is an instinct that many animals have because it helps us survive. This book looks at this instinct through several angles: humans who understand symbolic numbers, humans that do not have number words (tribes like the Munduruku) and animals.
What I like about this writing style is that he weaves in references to Shakespeare and history to show a full picture of humans’ relationship to numbers, like for instance, when the concept of zero emerged (pretty recently in the grand scheme of things).
There are several animals that seem to understand numerocity. We can see this when they observing their choices between more or less food/ predators/ mates. It seems that this ability to tell apart more from less is an instinct that many animals have because it helps us survive. This book looks at this instinct through several angles: humans who understand symbolic numbers, humans that do not have number words (tribes like the Munduruku) and animals.
What I like about this writing style is that he weaves in references to Shakespeare and history to show a full picture of humans’ relationship to numbers, like for instance, when the concept of zero emerged (pretty recently in the grand scheme of things).
December 5, 2023
In my own cognitive neuroscience research, I cited the works by Dr. Nieder frequently. It's very useful to read his full account of his theories. This is not a book for lay people, though. It's pretty academic without eye-catching anecdotes. The experiment results might not seem interesting to people who are not doing scientific research as a job.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews