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The Math Gene: How Mathematical Thinking Evolved and Why Numbers Are Like Gossip Hardcover – August 1, 2000

by Keith Devlin (Author)

37 customer reviews

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If people are endowed with a "number instinct" similar to the "language instinct"—as recent research suggests—then why can't everyone do math? In The Math Gene, mathematician and popular writer Keith Devlin attacks both sides of this question.Devlin offers a breathtakingly new theory of language development that describes how language evolved in two stages and how its main purpose was not communication. Devlin goes on to show that the ability to think mathematically arose out of the same symbol-manipulating ability that was so crucial to the very first emergence of true language.Why, then, can't we do math as well as we speak? The answer, says Devlin, is that we can and do—we just don't recognize when we're using mathematical reasoning.

The Math Gene: How Mathematical Thinking Evolved and Why Numbers Are Like Gossip

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Product Details

Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: Basic Books; 1st edition (August 1, 2000)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0465016189
ISBN-13: 978-0465016181
Product Dimensions: 1.2 x 6.5 x 9.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,860,623 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #7638 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Social Sciences > Linguistics
- #28187 in Books > Science & Math > Mathematics
- #34462 in Books > Reference > Words, Language & Grammar

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Customer Reviews

3.6 out of 5 stars

5 star		41%
4 star		24%
3 star		8%
2 star		14%
1 star		13%

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26 of 27 people found the following review helpful

An exploration into the origins of mathematical ability

By A Customer on October 4, 2000

Format: Hardcover

Devlin's "The Math Gene" is a wonderful book, well worth reading if you've an interest in how we think, and absolutely essential if your interest extends further to why we can do mathematics.
This is an intriguing question. After all, it's a fairly new part of human behavior - having been around maybe 10,000 years - that we all can do, at least a bit, and the rest of the animal kingdom can't, at least as far as we know.
Devlin's the first mathematician I know of who's looked deeply into this subject using recent research in the area; he's done a great job fitting the available data to a theory that starts to answer the question, how it is we can do mathematics?
First, though, you have to understand what mathematics really is. Devlin's definition is the "science of patterns" and he explains clearly and convincingly why it's the right one.
His premise, roughly, is that however we acquired language, and he stays mostly on the sidelines of the heated debates about that, mathematical ability came along for the ride. His reasoning is that "off-line reasoning" is an essentially equivalent to language, as you can't have one without the other, and that this plus some other abilities, such as a number sense and spatial reasoning, give us the ability to do mathematics.
He then explains why so many of us find the subject difficult. A simplified version is that we use language mainly to talk about interpersonal relationships. In a word, gossip. Note he's not claiming this to have been the purpose for it's development, just that it's what we mostly do with it now. And we're very good at gossiping. In fact, it's so easy we consider it to be a form of relaxation.Read more ›

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31 of 35 people found the following review helpful

Fascinating, untestable, and plausible. Recommended.

By Mike Christie on December 31, 2000

Format: Hardcover

"The Math Gene" presents a theory of how mathematical ability and language are related, and how they might have evolved. Devlin starts by separating "number sense" from mathematical ability. Many animals as well as humans can estimate the quantity of something; rats can be taught to press a lever about sixteen times to get a reward. The "about" is significant though; it's an estimate, not an exact count, as far as the rats are concerned. So if number sense and mathematical ability are not the same, what else is needed for mathematics? Devlin lists eight other attributes, including algorithmic ability, a sense of cause and effect, and relational reasoning ability.
Then there's a fairly long discussion of mathematics from the inside--are mathematician's brains different? What is it mathematicians do?--including a moderately detailed description of the basics of mathematical groups. I think Devlin does this to provide non-mathematicians with a sense of what mathematics is about, to make the rest of the book more plausible. This section is well-written and fluent, but I found myself getting a little impatient for the meat of his argument, which comes in the last half of the book. I suspect any reader with a good mathematics background would react the same way.
The next piece of the argument is to demonstrate that language is unlikely to have developed solely as a result of evolutionary pressure towards communication. This is a subtle point I haven't seen made before, but Devlin (who acknowledges his debts to other workers in this area) makes the case quite convincing. In summary: apart from extremely simple messages like "Danger!" and "Mammoth here" you can't communicate what you don't have a mental representation of.Read more ›

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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful

Ok, So We All Have a Math Gene, But...

By Allen Moore on December 20, 2005

Format: Hardcover

The author presents a carefully crafted theory of how language developed in humans, and links our innate mathematical abilities to this skill with language. Although his position is that everybody has some level of mathematical skill beyond number sense, he never really addresses in detail why some people have an aptitude for math and others don't, other than to mention the mathematician's ability to cope with abstraction.

This is the second book by Devlin I've read, and I'm impressed by his boldness in escorting the reader through difficult mental terrain. If you find the topic of language development interesting, and you're willing to exert some mental effort to keep up with his arguments, you'll find this book a thought-provoking read. However if you want to know why high-school algebra gave you such trouble, you'll have to look elsewhere for the answer.

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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

Wonderful insight into mathematics and human evolution

By Amazon Customer on September 5, 2002

Format: Paperback

The Math Gene is a wonderful insight into mathematics and how humans may have evolved the ability for mathematical thought. Dr Devlin gives a powerful argument for his theory in three parts. He begins with an explanation of the nature of mathematics, and dispells many misconceptions about math held by people outside of the mathematics community. He then spends the bulk of his text describing the nature and evolution of language and communication in humans and their differences with animals in that respect. He explains what pressures in the environment would be necessary to cause an evolutionary change in language and thought in a way that is understandable by a layperson and plausable to someone with a strong scientific background. He ends his book with a comparison of the mind's mathematical and language processes, why language (particularly gossip) must have preceded mathematical thought, and why mathematical thought is a direct product of any consciousness capable of language.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and have recommended it to friends and colleages alike. I would also recommend another one of Devlin's books, The Language of Mathematics, for a glimpse into the diverse and beautiful world of math any person could understand and appreciate.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

Great book, bad title

This well written book concerns the evolutionary origins of mathematical ability. If Devlin's thesis is anywhere close to being correct, mathematical ability is NOT some sort of... Read more

Published 3 months ago by Russell Merris

Not So Much

I tried.... But it felt like I was eating unbuttered toast.

Published 15 months ago by ponypinup

Great Book

I learned of this book while searching for a book Keith wrote that was recommended on Coursera.com. This Prof. has turned me on to a love of Math.

Published 19 months ago by musicgenes

If you love math...

This book is very eye-opening. Tells about the origin of math and how it applies to EVERYTHING. This is a very unique math book. If you have curiosities... Read more

Published on September 9, 2013 by Terry L. Wheeler

The Math Gene

Devlin again. Just buy it. You'll be happy you did I am sure. Of course there is a math gene. It is too valuable a quality not to be locked into the genes for safe passage. Read more

Published on August 9, 2013 by Janet Gallin

Great Condition!

The book had a sticker on the spine from the seller I guess, but easily removed without any residue. Read more

Published on July 29, 2013 by Liz Mundo

Excelent

I liked this book manly because the author give us a consistent idea of what mathematics is and why everybody are able to learn it.

Published on March 12, 2013 by Cláudia Carvalho

I loved reading it - great combination of insights and good writing...

I am a psychologist and picked up this book to understand learning difficulties in mathematics as my I am planning my post-doctoral research in that area. Read more

Published on February 21, 2013 by Sateesh

Does not provide support for its main theses.

I am a cognitive scientist who studies how children acquire number concepts and numerical language. Based on the last 30 years of research on the acquisition of numerical thought,... Read more

Published on January 16, 2013 by M. Le Corre

Fascinating Read!

I have never been so intrigued by a book as I am with this one! It is so easy to read and understand. Read more

Published on October 27, 2011 by Heather Karuza