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The approximate number system represents rational numbers: The special case of an empty set

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 December 2021

Michal Pinhas Open the ORCID record for Michal Pinhas [Opens in a new window] ,
Rut Zaks-Ohayon  and
Joseph Tzelgov
Michal Pinhas
Affiliation:
Department of Behavioral Sciences, Ariel University, Ariel40700, Israel. michalpi@ariel.ac.ilhttps://pinhaslab.com
Rut Zaks-Ohayon
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Achva Academic College, Arugot, 79800, Israel Department of Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva84105, Israel. zaksru@post.bgu.ac.il
Joseph Tzelgov
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Achva Academic College, Arugot, 79800, Israel Department of Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva84105, Israel. zaksru@post.bgu.ac.il Department of Psychology, and Zlotowski Center for Neuroscience, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva84105, Israel. tzelgov@bgu.ac.ilhttps://in.bgu.ac.il/humsos/psych/eng/Pages/staff/Joseph_en.aspx
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Abstract

We agree with Clarke and Beck that the approximate number system represents rational numbers, and we demonstrate our support by highlighting the case of the empty set – the non-symbolic manifestation of zero. It is particularly interesting because of its perceptual and semantic uniqueness, and its exploration reveals fundamental new insights about how numerical information is represented.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 44 , 2021 , e202
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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