Key Points
Stanley Jevons, to estimate any large number of objects without counting them successively.".
But Jevons went on: A small number, for instance three or four, [the mind] can certainly comprehend and count by an instantaneous and apparently single act of mental attention.".
Partly, what this table suggests is that though he did make mistakes, Jevonss guesses even with larger numbers were mostly correct, or close..
But a recent study does have a possible explanation (Distinct neuronal representation of small and large numbers in the human medial temporal lobe, Esther F..
In contrast, the neurons tuned to steadily higher numbers than four were steadily less precise in their firing..
