--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To a mathematician the eleventh means…" description: "\"To a mathematician the eleventh means only a single unit: to the bushman who cannot count further than his ten fingers it is an incalculable myriad.\" —..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ff/george-bernard-shaw-68_bushmen_to-a-mathematician-the-eleventh-means-on_1191196.png" --- # To a mathematician the eleventh means only a single unit… ![“To a mathematician the eleventh means only a single unit: to the bushman who cannot count further than his ten fingers it is an incalculable myriad.” quote by George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ff/george-bernard-shaw-68_bushmen_to-a-mathematician-the-eleventh-means-on_1191196.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ff/george-bernard-shaw-68_bushmen_to-a-mathematician-the-eleventh-means-on_1191196.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ff/george-bernard-shaw-68_bushmen_to-a-mathematician-the-eleventh-means-on_1191196.png) > “To a mathematician the eleventh means only a single unit: to the bushman who cannot count further than his ten fingers it is an incalculable myriad.” [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A mathematician sees the number eleven as a single unit, while a bushman, limited to ten fingers, perceives it as an uncountable many. **In simple terms:** Mathematician sees numbers abstractly; limited counting leads to perceiving large numbers as infinite. Key Takeaway Recognize how perspective shapes perception of magnitude. Themes perception numbers culture limitations Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - education - cross‑cultural communication - science communication - teaching - public speaking Key Concepts mathematics cognitive bias anthropology Questions to Reflect On - How does your background affect how you interpret large quantities? - What other examples show perception changes with knowledge? A Different Perspective The analogy may oversimplify cultural differences and ignore other counting systems. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bushmen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bushmen/) [Mathematician](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematician/) [Mathematics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematics/) [Myriad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myriad/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) ## Related quotes > [Had we taken ten sails, and let the eleventh to escape, being able to get at her, I could never have called it well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatio-nelson/had-we-taken-ten-sails-and-let-the-eleventh-to-escape-being-able-to/) [Horatio Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horatio-nelson/) > [Those who don't remember the past are condemned to repeat the eleventh grade.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-w-loewen/those-who-don-t-remember-the-past-are-condemned-to-repeat-the/) [James W. 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The bushmen of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-hook/if-someone-starts-talking-about-pride-today-i-m-going-to-vomit-the/) George Hook ## More by George Bernard Shaw > [I love little children too but I don't cut off their heads and stick them in vases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-love-little-children-too-but-i-don-t-cut-off-their-heads-and-stick/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Blasphemy and sedition (meaning the truth about Church and State).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/blasphemy-and-sedition-meaning-the-truth-about-church-and-state/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In the arts of life, man invents nothing; but in the arts of death he outdoes Nature herself, and produces by chemistry and machinery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-life-man-invents-nothing-but-in-the-arts-of-death-he/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“My religious convictions and scientific views cannot at present be more specifically defined than as those of a believer in creative evolution. 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Paterson [Browse all 13 Bushmen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bushmen/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To a mathematician the eleventh means only a single unit: to the bushman who cannot count further than his ten fingers it is an incalculable myriad.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Bernard Shaw" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/to-a-mathematician-the-eleventh-means-only-a-single-unit-to-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bushmen" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/to-a-mathematician-the-eleventh-means-only-a-single-unit-to-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ff/george-bernard-shaw-68_bushmen_to-a-mathematician-the-eleventh-means-on_1191196.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ff/george-bernard-shaw-68_bushmen_to-a-mathematician-the-eleventh-means-on_1191196.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ff/george-bernard-shaw-68_bushmen_to-a-mathematician-the-eleventh-means-on_1191196.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To a mathematician the eleventh means only a single unit: to the bushman who cannot count further than his…” — George Bernard Shaw", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "George Bernard Shaw", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "To a mathematician the eleventh means...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/to-a-mathematician-the-eleventh-means-only-a-single-unit-to-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/to-a-mathematician-the-eleventh-means-only-a-single-unit-to-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```