The complexities of cognitive comparisons
Which mountain range is bigger, the Rockies or the Alps? The answer depends on how you compare them. The Alps reach a greater height, and the 10 highest peaks in the Alps are taller in sum than the 10 highest peaks in the Rockies. Then again, the Rockies have three times as many peaks over 4,000 meters, or 13,000 feet, and the main spine of the Rockies runs about five times as far as that of the Alps — meaning the Rockies surely contain a greater volume of mountains.In short, comparing groups of objects can be tricky, especially when we are evaluating their characteristics, and not just the number of members in each group. So how does the mind process these kinds of comparisons and turn them into linguistic statements? In the past, linguists exploring this issue have asserted that “plural comparison follows from comparing every individual in one set...