Number concepts without number lines in an indigenous group of Papua New Guinea.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The generic concept of number line, which maps numbers to unidimensional space, is a fundamental concept in mathematics, but its cognitive origins are uncertain. Two defining criteria of the number line are that (i) there is a mapping of each individual number (or numerosity) under consideration onto a specific location on the line, and (ii) that the mapping defines a unidimensional space representing numbers with a metric--a distance function. It has been proposed that the number line is based on a spontaneous universal human intuition, rooted directly in brain evolution, that maps number magnitude to linear space with a metric. To date, no culture lacking this intuition has been documented.

Methodology/principal findings

By means of a number line task, we invest

SUBMITTER: Nunez R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3338449 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature