20 Jun '09 12:51>1 edit
It has been found that many animals including the more primitive ones have independently evolved to have some rudimentary arithmetic abilities such as being able to distinguish between 1 and 2 and also between 2 and 3 …up to about 5 or 6 and to precisely identify very small numbers and also being able to estimate the ratios between very large numbers:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20227131.600-animals-that-count-how-numeracy-evolved.html?DCMP=OTC-rss&nsref=magcontents
So performing these tasks must (perhaps surprisingly?) often give many kinds of animals including the more primitive ones a significant survival advantage.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20227131.600-animals-that-count-how-numeracy-evolved.html?DCMP=OTC-rss&nsref=magcontents
So performing these tasks must (perhaps surprisingly?) often give many kinds of animals including the more primitive ones a significant survival advantage.