Humanity’s Other Basic Instinct: Math

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Discover, November 17, 2009

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Numbers make modern life possible. “In a world without numbers,” University of Rochester neuroscientist Jessica Cantlon and her colleagues recently observed in the journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences, “we would be unable to build a skyscraper, hold a national election, plan a wedding, or pay for a chicken at the market.”

The central role of numbers in our world testifies to the brain’s uncanny ability to recognize and understand them—and Cantlon is among the researchers trying to find out exactly how that skill works. Traditionally, scientists have thought that we learn to use numbers the same way we learn how to drive a car or to text with two thumbs. In this view, numbers are a kind of technology, a man-made invention to which our all-purpose brains can adapt.

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Science Cabaret

Posted on by Matt Kristoffersen

Here’s a fun talk I had Saturday on Science Cabaret, a radio show on WICB in Ithaca. The host, Jennifer Nelson, is a graduate student at Cornell and has only been interviewing people about science for two months, but she’s clearly a natural at this. At the Science Cabaret site, you can listen to her earlier talks, too. Check them out.

Originally published November 16, 2009. Copyright 2009 Carl Zimmer.

Sarah Palin On The Origin of Species

Posted on by Matt Kristoffersen

Palin didn’t believe in the theory that human beings — thinking, loving beings — originated from fish that sprouted legs and crawled out of the sea, or from monkeys who eventually swung down from the trees.

Quoted in Michiko Katutani’s review of Sarah Palin’s new memoir.

Originally published November 15, 2009. Copyright 2009 Carl Zimmer.

Real Wonder Vs. Make-Believe In Ithaca, NY

Posted on by Matt Kristoffersen

Tomorrow morning I’m hopping a plane and spending the afternoon at Cornell. On Saturday, I’ll be giving a talk about The Origin of Species just down the road in downtown Ithaca. Caren Cooper, an ornithologist at Cornell, has used my upcoming talk as the hook for a lovely essay in the Ithaca Times about the real wonder of science versus the make-believe of pseudoscience. You can find details about the talk here.

Originally published November 12, 2009. Copyright 2009 Carl Zimmer.