We learn to count at such an early age that we tend to take the notion of abstract numbers for granted. We know the word “two” and the symbol “2” express a quantity that we can attach to apples, ...

The following is an excerpt from Thinking in Numbers: On Life, Love, Meaning, and Math, by Daniel Tammet, out now from Little, Brown. Ask an Icelander what comes after three and he will answer, “Three ...

Several vertebrate species can distinguish between, say, two and five bananas—but with the exception of primates, they can’t grasp the numerical rules that would let them arrange their piles of fruit ...

They are not renowned for their brainpower, but pigeons may be as smart as monkeys when it comes to arithmetic. Three pigeons were shown a computer screen displaying images with one, two or three ...

Several vertebrate species can distinguish between, say, two and five bananas—but with the exception of primates, they can’t grasp the numerical rules that would let them arrange their piles of fruit ...