CULTURE AND KNOWING : NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL CORRELATES FOR MATHEMATICAL ABILITY AND PERFORMANCE

Innate neurophysiological cortical determinants in the Angular gyrus have been shown to mediate mathematical ability in our species. Cultural effects found within the familial and scholastic environments enable the progression and successive layering from sensori-motor to formal operations within the Piagetian stages of cognitive development. Mathematically enriched environments are also seen as promoting this progression ftom symbolic use of quantitative descriptors towards more advanced forms of mathematics in algebra and computer languages. The application of this understanding within diverse ethnolinguistic milieu is the focus of the Cornmission on the Anthropology of Mathematics.