Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Numerical cognition without words: evidence from Amazonia.

Peter Gordon1

  • 1Department of Biobehavioral Sciences, Columbia University, 525 West 120th Street, New York, NY 10027, USA. pgordon@tc.columbia.edu

Science (New York, N.Y.)
|August 21, 2004
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

A Pseudotime-Dependent TWAS Framework Identifies Disease Genes along Cell Developmental Paths.

HGG advances·2026
Same author

Trends in Triple-Site Testing for Chlamydia and Gonorrhea in New York City: A Cross-Sectional Study Using Health Information Exchange Data.

Sexually transmitted diseases·2026
Same author

Exploring HIV provider framings of living and aging with HIV.

SSM. Qualitative research in health·2025
Same author

A Pseudotime-Dependent TWAS Framework Identifies Disease Genes along Cell Developmental Paths.

medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences·2025
Same author

Increased Depression and Anxiety Among Men and Transgender Women Receiving Care at a Sexual Health Clinic in New York City During COVID-19.

Open forum infectious diseases·2025
Same author

Enhanced Surveillance of Sexually Transmitted Infections to Foster a Learning Public Health System.

JAMA network open·2025
Same journal

Erratum for the Research Article "Detecting supramolecular organic nanoparticles during heat wave".

Science (New York, N.Y.)·2026
Same journal

Local signals, systemic decline.

Science (New York, N.Y.)·2026
Same journal

The mechanics of liver regeneration.

Science (New York, N.Y.)·2026
Same journal

Computing in a memory with physics.

Science (New York, N.Y.)·2026
Same journal

Retraction.

Science (New York, N.Y.)·2026
Same journal

Making time.

Science (New York, N.Y.)·2026
See all related articles

The Pirahã people, who lack number words beyond "one, two, many," struggle with large quantities. This suggests language, specifically number terms, significantly impacts numerical cognition and estimation abilities.

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Science
  • Linguistics
  • Anthropology

Background:

  • The Pirahã tribe utilizes a "one-two-many" counting system, lacking specific terms for larger numbers.
  • This study investigates the relationship between language, number representation, and cognitive abilities, addressing the Whorfian hypothesis.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine if the Pirahã can perceive large numerosities without dedicated number words.
  • To explore how linguistic limitations in number terms affect numerical cognition.

Main Methods:

  • Participants completed numerical tasks with varying cognitive loads.
  • Performance was analyzed for quantities exceeding the "one-two-many" system.

Main Results:

  • Pirahã speakers demonstrated significant difficulty with quantities greater than three.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Performance showed a constant coefficient of variation, indicating an analog estimation process rather than precise enumeration.
  • Numerical cognition is demonstrably affected by the absence of a counting system.

    • Conclusions:

    • The lack of number words in the Pirahã language profoundly impacts their ability to process and estimate large quantities.
    • Findings support the idea that language structure influences numerical cognition, particularly in the absence of precise enumeration tools.