381: Can Fish Count? What Animals Reveal About Our Uniquely Mathematical Minds
“Birds can fly and have wings, bees can fly and have wings—but birds’ wings didn’t evolve from bees’ wings or from some common ancestor of bees and birds. So for independent reasons, they both found it useful to be able to fly. And it’s entirely possible that this is true for us, ourselves, and other creatures as well.”
On the show this week we’re joined by Brian Butterworth, emeritus professor of cognitive neuropsychology and author of the new book Can Fish Count? What Animals Reveal About Our Uniquely Mathematical Minds. He’s spent his career looking at the genetics and neuroscience of mathematical ability—and not just in humans.
