Our ability to count isn’t a distinct human trait. Animals can count, too. And, just like humans, some animals are better at math than others.
For decades, researchers have designed experiments that have helped determine that animals, including insects, can count and what specific animals are mathletes.
This research, conducted on diverse taxonomic groups from primates, to insects, to birds, suggests that animals not only distinguish between more and less, but specific numbers, too. Called numerosity, each new research project unveils more complex counting abilities, says Brian Butterworth, author of Can Fish Count?: What animals reveal about our uniquely mathematical minds.
Butterworth was studying small and large number discrimination in humans when he turned to fish. His research on humans determined that it’s easy to discriminate between numbered dots when there are only a few dots.
It’s a standard test of basic numerical abilities, a metric that correlates with calculation ...
