Subject: Re: [HM] historiography of mathematics
From: John Conway (conway@Math.Princeton.EDU)
Date: Mon Sep 18 2000 - 20:05:39 EDT
On Sat, 16 Sep 2000, Tony Mann quoted and wrote:
> > This brings to my mind another popular research field of today,
> > that of so-called evolutionary psychology. I think I saw recently
> > a reference to a book which considered the rise of mathematics
> > from the standpoint of Darwinian-type evolution as applied to
> > human cognitive developments over the course of time. Can anyone
> > here identify this work for me, or other similar work?
>
> It might have been "The Number Sense", by Stanislas Dehaene, Paperback,
> 288 pages (4 March, 1999) Penguin Books; ISBN: 0140261346 - which I
> recommend. There is also a recent book by Brian Butterworth, "The
> Mathematical Brain" which I have not read - there was previously some
> discussion of this latter on this list.
I was very disappointed with it, because it said absolutely NOTHING
about what I expected it to talk about, namely how our brains have
evolved so as to enable us to do significant mathematics. If it had
been called "The Arithmetical Brain" I wouldn't have minded so much (but
probably wouldn't have bought it).
John Conway
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