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Numbers as a cognitive and social technology: on the nature of conventional number sequences used in economic systems

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 May 2010

DAVID A. HARPER
DAVID A. HARPER*
Affiliation:
Department of Economics, New York University, New York, USA
*
*Email: David.Harper@nyu.edu
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Abstract:

This paper examines the fundamental nature of numbers as they are used in economic systems. In the framework proposed, number sequences are technological objects (‘tools’) that are constituted by both form and function. To do their job, number sequences have to have the necessary internal structure – all elements (e.g. symbols) of the sequence must be distinct from one another, and the sequence must be a progression. In addition, numerical toolkits have to have the right external structure – they must be situated in a social network of economic agents that confers on them quantitative functions (e.g. identifying set sizes). Number sequences are the product of multilevel evolutionary processes, including psychological selection that screens sequences for their learnability by human users. Number tools are a kind of capital; they are material systems that are as real as other everyday objects. Just as changing physical tools alters the structure of productive activity, so too changing number sequences alters cognitive, behavioral, and social routines.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Institutional Economics , Volume 6 , Issue 2 , June 2010 , pp. 167 - 190
Copyright
Copyright © The JOIE Foundation 2010

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