Abstract
Nothing causes an argument quicker than a discussion about the intelligence of animals; dog lovers attack cat lovers, horse enthusiasts admire their icon, while pig fans sit back and smile at all the confusion. The question of whether or not animals can count is just as divisive. Some scientists and most pet owners claim that, not only can their favorite pets count, they can add, subtract and, on special occasions, read their masters’ minds. “How did Sparky know I was going for his leash?” says the devoted dog owner. “I could have been getting up to go to the kitchen. But he knew. He jumped up and ran to the front door. The only explanation is that he read my mind.”
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
End Notes
Graham Flegg, Numbers: Their History and Meaning, p. 7.
H. Kalmus, “Animals as Mathematicians,” Nature 202 (June 20, 1964), p. 1156.
Levi Leonard Conant, “Counting,” in The World of Mathematics, Vol. 1 (James R. Newman, ed.) (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1956), p. 433.
Donald R. Griffin, Animal Thinking (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1984), p. 204.
O. Koehler, “The Ability of Birds to ‘Count’,” in The World of Mathematics, Vol. 1 (James R. Newman, ed.) (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1956), p. 491.
Conant, p. 434.
Guy Woodruff and David Premack, “Primate Mathematical Concepts in the Chimpanzee: Proportionality and Numerosity,” Nature 293 (October 15, 1981), p. 568–570.
Phone conversation with Kenneth S. Norris, retired professor of natural history at the University of California-Santa Cruz, Nov. 19, 1992.
Menninger, Number Words and Number Symbols, p. 11.
John McLeish, Number (New York: Fawcett Columbine, 1991), p. 7.
David Caldwell and Melba Caldwell, The World of the Bottle-Nosed Dolphin (New York: J. B. Lippincott Co., 1972), p. 17.
Carl Sagan, Mind in the Waters (Joan Mclntyre, ed.) (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1974), p. 88.
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1994 Calvin C. Clawson
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Clawson, C.C. (1994). Counting in Other Species. In: The Mathematical Traveler. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-6014-6_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-6014-6_4
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-0-306-44645-0
Online ISBN: 978-1-4899-6014-6
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive