| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"Therion Ware" |
| Date: |
15 Feb 2005 04:28:05 AM |
| Object: |
OT: Key to intelligence questioned. Is maths a language? |
Key to intelligence questioned
Thought might not be dependent on language, according to new research
published in the Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences.
A UK team has shown that patients who have lost the ability to
understand grammar can still complete hard sums.
This suggests mathematical reasoning can exist without language.
The study undermines the assumption that language is the key quality
that makes our thought processes more advanced than those of other
animals.
"We are kicking against the claim that it is language that allows you
to do other high order intellectual functions," lead research Rosemary
Varley, from the University of Sheffield, UK, told the BBC News
website.
Severe aphasia
The researchers made the discovery by studying three patients who were
suffering from severe aphasia - they had lost the ability to
understand, or produce, grammatically correct language.
For example, although they understood the words "lion", "hunted" and
"man", they could not tell the difference between the sentences "The
lion hunted the man" and "The man hunted the lion".
But when they were presented with sums like 52 minus 11 and 11 minus
52, which were structured in a similar way, they had no problem.
"Our patients can clearly do those problems which show the same
reversibility," said Dr Varley. "So that shows they have a good
insight into these very abstract principles.
"Despite profound language deficits these guys showed advanced
cognitive abilities, which indicates considerable autonomy between
language and thinking."
The new findings contradict previous studies which used brain imaging
techniques to work out how people process mathematics.
A French-led team found that calculations lit up the left frontal
lobe, an area of the brain known to make associations with words.
But Dr Varley is not convinced by this research.
"The problem with functional brain imaging is you don't really know
what your subjects are doing when they are in the scanner," she said.
"If you give them a sum they might be reading the numbers aloud in
their head.
"But that is not to say that language is necessarily a part of
mathematics."
If Dr Varley is correct, it again raises the question of what makes
humans different.
According to many academics, people are much cleverer than other
animals because language gives them a higher order of thought. But
these findings suggest cleverness and language might not be as closely
connected as once assumed.
Elizabeth Brannon, of Columbia University, US, wrote in a commentary
article: "A promising avenue for further exploring this hypothesis is
to look for precursors of social reasoning and mathematical syntax in
nonhuman animals."
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/sci/tech/4265763.stm
Published: 2005/02/15 10:04:12 GMT
© BBC MMV
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| User: "Daniel Kolle" |
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| Title: Re: OT: Key to intelligence questioned. Is maths a language? |
15 Feb 2005 09:26:29 PM |
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On Tue, 15 Feb 2005 10:28:05 +0000, Therion Ware
<autodelete@city-of-dis.com> thought hard and said:
Key to intelligence questioned
Thought might not be dependent on language, according to new research
published in the Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences.
A UK team has shown that patients who have lost the ability to
understand grammar can still complete hard sums.
This suggests mathematical reasoning can exist without language.
Oh, wonderful. Is there any theory why those good in language cannot
seem to wrap their minds around many aspects of math?
--
-Daniel "Mr. Brevity" Kolle; 16 A.A. #2035
Koji Kondo, Yo-Yo Ma, Gustav Mahler, Krzysztof Penderecki, and Geirr Tveitt are my Gods.
Head of EAC Denial Department and Madly Insane Scientist.
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| User: "Mad Mambo Master of Macedonia" |
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| Title: Re: OT: Key to intelligence questioned. Is maths a language? |
15 Feb 2005 08:21:18 AM |
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Therion Ware <autodelete@city-of-dis.com> wrote in
news:ljj3115ca5cmlndtfd8sef21k83886a4qu@4ax.com:
"But that is not to say that language is necessarily a part of
mathematics."
Unless you're doin word problems.
--
"Poor Jack--he was a wise man, but he loved playing with that wheat
thresher. ALWAYS with the wheat thresher!" Peter Griffin.
Winning Hearts&Minds: http://eerierodent.blogspot.com
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| User: "Therion Ware" |
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| Title: Re: OT: Key to intelligence questioned. Is maths a language? |
15 Feb 2005 09:08:39 AM |
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On Tue, 15 Feb 2005 14:21:18 GMT in talk.origins, Mad Mambo Master of
Macedonia (Mad Mambo Master of Macedonia <newb@newb.com>) said,
directing the reply to talk.origins
Therion Ware <autodelete@city-of-dis.com> wrote in
news:ljj3115ca5cmlndtfd8sef21k83886a4qu@4ax.com:
"But that is not to say that language is necessarily a part of
mathematics."
Unless you're doin word problems.
Think D Day. And crosswords.
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