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Science

September 15, 2008

Testing Your Approximate Number Sense

Humans use two distinct number systems, one learned and one intuitive. Computation, such as taking a square root, is an abstract process that is uniquely human. But the nonverbal process of approximating numbers is a system we share with infants and many other animals. Related Article

Sources: Justin Halberda and Lisa Feigenson, Johns Hopkins University; Michèle M. M. Mazzocco, Kennedy Krieger Institute; Nature

Jonathan Corum and Xaquín G.V./The New York Times