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Science Forum Index » Cognitive Science Forum » number concept - a short project
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| FCS |
 Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2008 6:18 am |
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Guest
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Hello,
Newbie here I am. But something occurred to me
that might make a portfolio booster if not postgrad
or whatever level work in its own right; and I'm not
in any position to anything with it. So if it's any use
then good.
Okay, I am under the impression that linguistic
anthropology has recently (this last decade) found
a people with no linguistic number concept. Even
then, though, they seem to differentiate between
unity, duality and multiplicity (3 or more).
And furthermore brain scans suggest that the areas
linked to number, whilst linguistically distinct from
the rest of vocabulary, also have a further trichotomy
in them along similar lines--slightly different areas
show activity where unity, duality and multiplicity
are concerned, despite most cultures do boast an
open-ended numerical nomenclature with infinite
capacity.
As such I was wondering, from a cognitive viewpoint
as well as one grounded in number theory, whether
doubled primes exhibit any characteristics, either in
the way they are perceived or the patterns they form
on the number line.
As such they are numbers which can only divided
by themselves, one, two and the complementary
prime which division by two implies.
As all of them will be firmly within "multiplicity" in terms
of cognitive function, if nothing else they may provide
some insight into mathematical function.
It is possible that this has already been covered in
some aspect of mathematics or number theory that
I have absorbed along the way, and I do not see it
as being an end in itself, per se, so much as perhaps
something which may end up included in a general
cogsci research portfolio in the face of professorial
types insisting "well, yes, it's interesting and relevant
but we do need slightly more in order to approve a
funding bursary--is there anything else you can come
up with?"
I also wondered if it might not be a reasonable focus
for cognitive scientists wishing to develop their own
mathematical literacy by way of being a good excuse
to spend time reading number theory with an aim in
mind that, by its nature, will yield interesting informatic
textural fields which digested methodologies for stats,
say, presented stand-alone in textbooks, don't.
I can only now cop-out by stating I'm concerned that
as I'm a guy sitting thinking about angles I don't recall
seeing being covered anywhere, that this is really a
very basic High-School level type stuff that is unworthy
of serious researchers, or that it simply pointless in
some way or other that if I were more of a mathematician
would be obvious.
But primes are held to be important, and the concept
of duality seems cognitively distinct from those of
unity and multiplicity - even in people who claim to be
useless at maths--my mental arithmetic ain't bad, but
I can't help wondering how much better it might be if
not so dully confined to contemporary orthodochy of
decimal systems in practice.
The other side of it is that with final-year project deadlines
and earlier-level coursework requirements looming firmly
in view for students aligned with the agrico-political academic
year curricula, it may, even if ultimately useless, be a
good springboard for discussion, particularly where one
may be in a position of not wanting one's really really
really good ideas to fall into grasping hands when engaged
in the process of prospective interviewing (some people
are too precious about this, others rightly wary, but it is
a factor--and even drafting null proposals is good practice
for drafting real proposals).
G DAEB
COPYRIGHT (C) 2008 SIPSTON
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