On Sat, Jan 28, 2012 at 09:05:57PM +0530, Deepa Mohan wrote: > Then we can find a mathematician who says that while many species can > do basic calculation, it is only Homo sapiens that does arithmetic.
Birds can count well enough. You should see what some corvidae can do, now that's primate-level performance from a much, much smaller brain. Just like the Portia spiders, some species manage to be much smarter than others, all other things being equal. > I cannot think of anything less abstract than numbers. To me, a > number is such a pre-determined, nailed-down, inflexible in-your-face > constant. If you have to keep track of stored food, then the concepts of time, location and quantity are easy, since a matter of survival. Failing that particular fitness test is not an option.
