Learned, not innate human intuition: Study finds twist to the story of the number line

Wednesday, April 25, 2012 - 16:00 in Mathematics & Economics

Tape measures. Rulers. Graphs. The gas gauge in your car, and the icon on your favorite digital device showing battery power. The number line and its cousins – notations that map numbers onto space and often represent magnitude – are everywhere. Most adults in industrialized societies are so fluent at using the concept, we hardly think about it. We don't stop to wonder: Is it "natural"? Is it cultural?

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