Can Fish Count?: What Animals Reveal about Our Uniquely Mathematical Minds

An entertaining investigation of the numerical abilities of animals and our own appetite for arithmetic

The philosopher Bertrand Russell once observed that realizing that a pair of apples and the passage of two days could somehow both be represented by the concept we call "two" was one of the most astonishing discoveries anyone had ever made. So what do we make of the incredible fact that animals seem to have inherent mathematical abilities? As cognitive psychologist Brian Butterworth shows us in Can Fish Count?, many "simple" animals--such as bees, which count trees and fence posts, and guppies, which can size up groups--have a sense of numbers. And unlike humans, they don't need to be taught.

In telling animals' stories, Butterworth shines new light on one of our most ancient questions: Just where, exactly, do numbers come from? He reveals how insights gleaned from studying animals can help us make better sense of our own abilities. Full of discovery and delight, Can Fish Count? is an astonishing journey through the animal kingdom and the human mind.

ISBN-13: 9781541620810

Media Type: Hardcover

Publisher: Basic Books

Publication Date: 04-26-2022

Pages: 384

Product Dimensions: 6.70(w) x 9.70(h) x 1.30(d)

Brian Butterworth is emeritus professor of cognitive neuropsychology at University College London, working on the genetics and neuroscience of mathematical abilities and disabilities. He is a fellow of the British Academy and the author of What Counts, as well as of several academic books. He lives in London.

Table of Contents

Preface 1

1 The Language of the Universe 7

2 Can Humans Count? 36

3 Bones, Stones and the Earliest Counting Words 83

4 Can Apes and Monkeys Count? 120

5 Mammals Great and Small 157

6 Can Birds Count? 174

7 Can Amphibians and Reptiles Count? 199

8 Can Fish Count? 214

9 Are Bigger Brains Really Better? 235

10 What Counts? 277

References 313

Acknowledgements 349

Image Credits and Sources 351

Index 355

Show More