On the origin of numbers
Nature Podcast
podcast@nature.com
4.5 • 893 Ratings
🗓️ 2 June 2021
⏱️ 20 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The cross-discipline effort to work our how ancient humans learned to count.
In this episode:
00:45 Number origins
Around the world, archaeologists, linguists and a host of other researchers are trying to answer some big questions – when, and how, did humans learn to count? We speak to some of the scientists at the forefront of this effort.
News Feature: How did Neanderthals and other ancient humans learn to count?
07:47 Research Highlights
How sea anemones influence clownfish stripes, and how skin-to-skin contact can improve survival rates for high-risk newborns.
Research Highlight: How the clownfish gets its stripes
Research Highlight: Nestling skin-to-skin right after birth saves fragile babies’ lives
09:48 Briefing Chat
We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, an upper limit for human ageing, and could tardigrades survive a collision with the moon?
Scientific American: Humans Could Live up to 150 Years, New Research Suggests
Science: Hardy water bears survive bullet impacts—up to a point
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | AI will change how we all work. At PwC it already has. We've been pioneering AI for around 10 years. |
| 0:08.0 | Over 15,000 of our UK staff are equipped with AI tools and skills, and we've created alliances with leading AI firms. |
| 0:18.0 | Visit pwc.co.uk to discover how we can help you get ahead of change. This is human-led, |
| 0:25.7 | tech-powered. This message comes from BetterHelp. Can you think of a time when you didn't feel |
| 0:34.5 | like you could be yourself, like you were hiding behind a mask. |
| 0:38.2 | BetterHelp online therapy is convenient, flexible and can help you learn to be your authentic |
| 0:43.5 | self, so you can stop hiding, because masks should be for Halloween fun, not for your emotions. |
| 0:50.5 | Take off the mask with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com today to get 10% off your first month. |
| 0:57.1 | That's BetterHelp, H-E-L-P.com. |
| 1:04.4 | Nature. |
| 1:06.9 | An experiment. |
| 1:07.7 | Why is it like so far? |
| 1:10.5 | Like, it sounds so simple. |
| 1:11.8 | They had no idea. |
| 1:13.3 | But now the data's... |
| 1:14.5 | I find this not only refreshing, but at some level, astounding. |
| 1:22.2 | Nature. |
| 1:24.1 | Nature. |
| 1:26.2 | Welcome back to the Nature podcast. This week, the ancient history of counting. |
| 1:32.0 | And the latest from the nature briefing. I'm Benjamin Thompson. And I'm Nick Pertcha-Chao. First up on the show, reporter Adam Levy has been pondering some important questions. |
| 2:09.4 | Hello there, How old are you? How tall are you? How many siblings do you have? |
| 2:13.1 | And how much money do you have in your wallet right now? |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from podcast@nature.com, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of podcast@nature.com and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.