Space & Number

Jul 1, 2023

Space

Space. The final frontier. How do we move in space? Vectors, scalars, navigation? Is spacial reasoning a cognitive instinct or a cognitive technology?

Primary Readings

Everyone should read these and be prepared to discuss.

  • Tolman, E. C. (1948). Cognitive maps in rats and men. Psychological review, 55(4), 189.
  • Peer, M., Brunec, I. K., Newcombe, N. S., & Epstein, R. A. (2021). Structuring knowledge with cognitive maps and cognitive graphs. Trends in cognitive sciences, 25(1), 37-54.

Questions under discussion

  • What are the natural concepts for space?
  • Are spatial concepts a cognitive universal or driven by language?

Number

Of all the terrifying things humans have created, perhaps maths are a fairly tame, although remarkable, invention. While we clearly created maths, did we create numbers?

Primary Readings

Everyone should read these and be prepared to discuss.

  • Feigenson, L., Dehaene, S., & Spelke, E. (2004). Core systems of number. Trends in cognitive sciences, 8(7), 307-314.
  • Pica, P., Lemer, C., Izard, V., & Dehaene, S. (2004). Exact and approximate arithmetic in an Amazonian indigene group. Science, 306(5695), 499-503.
  • Frank, M. C., Everett, D. L., Fedorenko, E., & Gibson, E. (2008). Number as a cognitive technology: Evidence from Pirahã language and cognition. Cognition, 108(3), 819-824.

Questions under discussion

  • How do we represent numbers?
  • Are numbers universal to animals?
Neil Bramley
Neil Bramley