Studies show the origin of the ability to understand the notion of numbers is something we share with the animals.
It is true that many nonhuman animals can manage almost-math without numbers. Reports of a quantity-related ability come from chickens, horses, dogs, honeybees, spiders, salamanders, guppies, chimps, macaques, bears, lions, carrion crows and many more. And nonverbal number sensing, studies now suggest, allows much fancier operations than just pointing to the computer screen that shows more dots.
All this could mean that animals all inherited rudiments of quantification smarts from a shared ancestor. (1)
Counting as an animal ability. This is what mathematics is all about. We have just made the system more… elaborate so that it seems advanced. But essentially we still count. As simple as that. And we just like to show the same tautologies over and over again in different ways so as to… count. We may believe that mathematics is an extremely advanced conquest of our civilization, but it is just as the same as a parrot learning to count beans.
Ask the chicken.
Does it feel proud for… counting?
Do not laugh.
You would seem that ridiculous when a wise man asks you why your are proud of knowing that (A + B)2 = A2 + 2AB + B2…
KO KO KO KO KOOOO!!!
Stare silently.
Just… stare.
Let the chicken count.
You are not here to count.
All you are here to do is figure out why there is no need to count…
Ah. And eat the chicken.
