Researchers at MIT have determined that the language used by the Piraha tribe inhabiting the northwestern region of Brazil only expresses numbers in relative quantities such that there is no concept of specific numerical values. A study conducted in 2004 suggested that the tribe had developed the concept of small discrete values such as one and two, but used the term "many" to express higher numbers. More recent studies reveal that the word initially thought to describe a value of two actually corresponds to values within an approximate range of 1 to 4, whereas another word, most closely identifying with the term "many," alludes to all values that exceed 4.
This discovery may help neurobiologists and cognitive scientists better understand what intrinsic mechanisms exist to allow the human brain to understand and utilize mathematics. It was initially assumed that counting was an intrinsic human trait, however some scientists are reconsidering this concept following the results of this study as well as a series of studies orchestrated by scientist Stanislas Dehaene who has explored this area within a number of ethnic groups and demographics. In his research, Dehaene has found that even top French mathematics students studying at the nation's most elite universities cannot always quickly diffentiate between integers when asked simple questions such as, "Which value is greater 4 or 5?" He has found the same trend to exist in other groups such as tribespeople (akin to the Piraha study) as well as varied groups he has studied across Europe and the United States.
via Slashdot.org and MIT.edu, a story regarding Dehaene's work may be found here
No comments:
Post a Comment