In a message dated Sat, 26 Jan 2002 7:34:42 PM Eastern Standard Time, "Alberto Monteiro" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
> Back to an old thread: what's the impact of adding a new children > to a set of children? -- whose answer depends on the cardinality > of the initial set. > > Hmmm.... IIRC, I read somewhere [and probably more than 20 years > ago] that the human mind does not understand instinctively any number > above 2. I read most of a book "Where Does Mathematics Come From" about 6 months ago. I think the number that is instinctive is 4. Animals can make it to about the same number. > > I think I agree. > > Getting out with two children, you *always* know where they are. > You keep a constant track of them. With three or more [today there > were four - niece included] our inconscious mind *always* > sends messages requiring us to *count* them, in order to > verify if they are all near. > > Alberto Monteiro
