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Nature's Numbers

A South American culture with no words for numbers and a budding mathematician aged seven months. Alex Bellos explores the roots of our numerical skills

Mathematics is one of the most extraordinary things humans can do with their brains but where do our numerical abilities come from? Maths writer Alex Bellos looks for answers from a tribe in the Brazilian Amazon which has no words for numbers in its language. He also meets a budding mathematician who is only seven months old.

Image credit: Edward Gibson

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27 minutes

Last on

Tue 12 Jan 201614:32GMT

Broadcasts

  • Mon 11 Jan 201620:32GMT
  • Mon 11 Jan 201621:32GMT
  • Tue 12 Jan 201602:32GMT
  • Tue 12 Jan 201603:32GMT
  • Tue 12 Jan 201604:32GMT
  • Tue 12 Jan 201605:32GMT
  • Tue 12 Jan 201607:32GMT
  • Tue 12 Jan 201613:32GMT
  • Tue 12 Jan 201614:32GMT

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