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I'm saying that beings developing "basic math" isn't even a given on this planet.

All of your examples come from societies where not being able to count and record with perfect precision meant that you were going to be screwed by people who could at the market. They're also no strangers to conflict, and math wins battles. They share characteristics because they had similar pressures and desires.

Imagine a thriving group of people who only use the numbers "one", "two", and "many". What sort of environment and point of view would lead to such a situation, given equivalent intelligence? How do they navigate their universe so successfully?

Unfortunately most of the research I've read in this area has focused on what people like this can't do relative to our framework, and hasn't been especially curious about what we can't do relative to theirs.




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