Math Gene: How Mathematical Thinking Evolved and Why Numbers Are Like Gossip - Tapa dura

In The Math Gene, mathematician Keith 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. He 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.
The Math Gene explains how our innate pattern-making abilities allow us to perform mathematical reasoning. Revealing why some people loathe mathematics, others find it difficult and a select few excel at the subject, Keith Devlin suggests ways in which we can all improve our mathematical skills.

Keith Devlin is the Dean of the School of Science at St. Mary's College, Moraga, California, and a Senior Researcher at the Center for the Study of Language and Information at Stanford University.