This research suggests that the ability to conceptualize zero could be more common than we think.
KATE KELLER: ‘Despite their sesame-seed-sized brains, honey bees have proven themselves the prodigies of the insect world. Researcher has found that they can count up to about four, distinguish abstract patterns, and communicate locations with other bees. Now, Australian scientists have found what may be their most impressive cognitive ability yet: “zero processing,” or the ability to conceptualize nothingness as a numerical value that can be compared with more tangible quantities like one and two. While seemingly intuitive, the ability to understand zero is actually quite rare across species — and unheard of in invertebrates. …
[Adrian] Dyer remains optimistic about the validity of his team’s results. He also says that this research suggests that the ability to conceptualize zero could be more common than we think—ancient humans, he postulates, likely had the potential for zero processing, cognitively speaking. “We had some human ancient cultures which appear not to ever have used the concept of zero… but as we look across animal species, we see that their brains are capable of processing this information,” says Dyer. “So ancient civilizations had brains that for sure could process zero. It was just something about how their culture was set up; they were not so interested in thinking about number sequences”.’ SOURCE…
RELATED VIDEO: