this post was submitted on 09 Oct 2023
4 points (100.0% liked)

Science

1 readers
7 users here now

This magazine is dedicated to discussions on scientific discoveries, research, and theories across various fields, including physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy, and more. Whether you are a scientist, a science enthusiast, or simply curious about the world around us, this is the place for you. Here you can share your knowledge, ask questions, and engage in discussions on a wide range of scientific topics. From the latest breakthroughs to historical discoveries and ongoing research, this category covers a wide range of topics related to science.

founded 2 years ago
4
Your brain finds it easy to size up four objects but not five — here’s why (www.nature.com)
submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
3 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Neuron activity shows that the brain uses different systems for counting up to four, and for five or more.

For more than a century, researchers have known that people are generally very good at eyeballing quantities of four or fewer items. But performance at sizing up numbers drops markedly — becoming slower and more prone to error — in the face of larger numbers.

Now scientists have discovered why: the human brain uses one mechanism to assess four or fewer items and a different one for when there are five or more. The findings, obtained by recording the neuron activity of 17 human participants, settle a long-standing debate on how the brain estimates how many objects a person sees. The results were published in Nature Human Behaviour on 2 October.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Well which neurons immediately decide to shove it off to the 4 or less neurons or the 5 or more neurons? Because they must be the ones running the show.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Talking out of my ass here but I guess the initial information from the eyes goes to many pathways and reaches both and more. It's just a question of which ones react.