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Geometry as a universal mental construction| old_uid | 12324 |
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| title | Geometry as a universal mental construction |
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| start_date | 2013/04/11 |
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| schedule | 15h30 |
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| online | no |
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| location_info | salle du conseil |
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| summary | Geometry, etymologically the “science of measuring the Earth”, was first intended as a mathematical description of space. This raises the question whether the spatial content of Euclidean geometry is universally present in the way humans perceive space, or whether Euclidean geometry a mental construction, specific to those who have received relevant instruction? The spatial content of formal theories of geometry may depart from spatial perception for two reasons: first, because in geometry, only some of the features of spatial figures are theoretically relevant; and second, because some geometric concepts go beyond any possible perceptual experience. Focusing in turn on these two aspects of geometry, I will present several lines of research on U.S. adults and children from the age of 3, and participants from an Amazonian culture, the Mundurucu. Almost all the aspects of geometry tested proved to be shared between these two cultures. Nevertheless, some aspects involve a process of mental construction where formal instruction seems to play a role in the U.S., but that can still take place in the absence of instruction in geometry. |
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| responsibles | Béranger, Rossetti |
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