--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...an arthropod with twenty-one body…" description: "\"“...an arthropod with twenty-one body segments and forty-two legs, is commonly called a centipede (one hundred feet) in English and a \"mille-pattes\" (t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7db/stanislas-dehaene-28546_pay-attention_an-arthropod-with-twenty-one-body-segmen_2799610.jpg" --- # ...an arthropod with twenty-one body segments and… ![“...an arthropod with twenty-one body segments and forty-two legs, is commonly called a centipede (one hundred feet) in English and a "mille-pattes" (thousand legs) in French! Clearly, we pay attention to the numerical regularities of nature only inasmuch as they fit in with our cognitive…” quote by Stanislas Dehaene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7db/stanislas-dehaene-28546_pay-attention_an-arthropod-with-twenty-one-body-segmen_2799610.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7db/stanislas-dehaene-28546_pay-attention_an-arthropod-with-twenty-one-body-segmen_2799610.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7db/stanislas-dehaene-28546_pay-attention_an-arthropod-with-twenty-one-body-segmen_2799610.jpg) > ““...an arthropod with twenty-one body segments and forty-two legs, is commonly called a centipede (one hundred feet) in English and a "mille-pattes" (thousand legs) in French! Clearly, we pay attention to the numerical regularities of nature only inasmuch as they fit in with our cognitive apparatus, which is biased toward small or round numerosities.”” [Stanislas Dehaene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislas-dehaene/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human cognition prefers simple, round numbers, leading us to notice regularities like centipede leg counts that fit these biases. **In simple terms:** Our brains favor easy numbers, shaping perception. Key Takeaway Design data to align with natural numeric intuitions. Themes cognition numeracy bias language perception Mood thoughtful inquisitive neutral Type explanatory analytical educational When to use this quote - education - data visualization - communication - product design - psychology research Key Concepts numerical cognition cognitive bias language influence Questions to Reflect On - How does numeric bias affect scientific observation? - Can we train awareness to notice irregularities? A Different Perspective Complex patterns may be ignored if they don’t fit simple numeric schemas. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Arthropod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arthropod-2334750/) [Called Centipede](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/called-centipede-3440715/) [Centipede](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/centipede-623322/) [Centipede Feet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/centipede-feet-2642618/) [Pay attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pay-attention/) [Thousand Legs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thousand-legs-3440716/) ## Related quotes > [Some people come by the name of genius in the same way that certain insects come by the name of centipede -- not because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/some-people-come-by-the-name-of-genius-in-the-same-way-that-certain/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Anomalocaridids seemed to lack front limbs, being an arthropod - being a joint-legged animal - and not having legs, it's kind of embarrassing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-van-roy/anomalocaridids-seemed-to-lack-front-limbs-being-an-arthropod-being-a/) [Benjamin Van Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-van-roy/) > [“Eighty-five percent of recorded species live in the terrestrial realm, and the majority of these, some 850,000, are arthropods (that is, insects, spiders, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-e-leakey/eighty-five-percent-of-recorded-species-live-in-the-terrestrial-realm/) [Richard E. Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-e-leakey/) > [“But if they’re all rigid and stiff, then how do they move at all? Ahhh, that’s where the joints come in. The stiff shells…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-if-they-re-all-rigid-and-stiff-then-how-do-they-move-at-all-ahhh/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Or a mother might look at her child's cheek and ask him: "What's that, a pimple?" and see the flesh puff out a little,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/or-a-mother-might-look-at-her-child-s-cheek-and-ask-him-what-s-that-a/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [“...so many knives and forks and spoons were not meant for a human being but for a centipede...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/so-many-knives-and-forks-and-spoons-were-not-meant-for-a-human-being/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [“They say only love can create, so who the fuck could love up a centipede? He's got more love in him than I got.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/they-say-only-love-can-create-so-who-the-fuck-could-love-up-a/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [“The centipede, having a hundred limbs, can find no useless feet;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaiten-nukariya/the-centipede-having-a-hundred-limbs-can-find-no-useless-feet/) [Kaiten Nukariya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaiten-nukariya/) > [“Would you mind washing my feet? I’m a centipede, so it may take you a century.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/would-you-mind-washing-my-feet-i-m-a-centipede-so-it-may-take-you-a/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [Now what sort of man or woman or monster would stroke a centipede I have ever seen? And here is my good big centipede!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/now-what-sort-of-man-or-woman-or-monster-would-stroke-a-centipede-i/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [I don't go into hysterics or anything, but I look around for something to smash it with. I used to live out in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/i-don-t-go-into-hysterics-or-anything-but-i-look-around-for-something/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [“After the shot he collapsed on the bed and lay there inert, but something was stirring in his spine from neck to the tail…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/after-the-shot-he-collapsed-on-the-bed-and-lay-there-inert-but/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [“A centipede the size of a Pontiac had once lived in the bottom-right corner of the trunk but had long since moved on once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-moore/a-centipede-the-size-of-a-pontiac-had-once-lived-in-the-bottom-right/) [Christopher Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-moore/) > [If your stature were an illness, it seems that the Centipede dispenses medicine to make you well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheshire-cat/if-your-stature-were-an-illness-it-seems-that-the-centipede-dispenses/) [Cheshire Cat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheshire-cat/) > [I'm not a big fan of spiders, rats, especially if they're like - I got up one morning on a holiday recently, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-burton/i-m-not-a-big-fan-of-spiders-rats-especially-if-they-re-like-i-got-up/) [Tim Burton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-burton/) ## More by Stanislas Dehaene > [“The notion that the world is mostly made up of small sets is an illusion imposed on us by our perceptual and cognitive systems.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislas-dehaene/the-notion-that-the-world-is-mostly-made-up-of-small-sets-is-an/) [Stanislas Dehaene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislas-dehaene/) > [“An innate sense of approximate numerical quantities may well be embedded in our genes; but when faced with exact symbolic calculation, we lack proper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislas-dehaene/an-innate-sense-of-approximate-numerical-quantities-may-well-be/) [Stanislas Dehaene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislas-dehaene/) > [“These three ingredients—focusing on conscious access, manipulating conscious perception, and carefully recording introspection—have transformed the study of consciousness into a normal experimental science.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislas-dehaene/these-three-ingredients-focusing-on-conscious-access-manipulating/) [Stanislas Dehaene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislas-dehaene/) > [“...the opacity of a numeration system takes an important toll on language acquisition.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislas-dehaene/the-opacity-of-a-numeration-system-takes-an-important-toll-on/) [Stanislas Dehaene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislas-dehaene/) > [“By definition, we have no access to our many unconscious processes—but this does not prevent us from making up stories about them. For instance,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislas-dehaene/by-definition-we-have-no-access-to-our-many-unconscious-processes-but/) [Stanislas Dehaene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislas-dehaene/) > [“progressive enrichment of children’s intuitions, leaning heavily on their precocious understanding of quantitative manipulations and of counting. One should first arouse their curiosity with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislas-dehaene/progressive-enrichment-of-children-s-intuitions-leaning-heavily-on/) [Stanislas Dehaene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislas-dehaene/) > [“A stream of symbols appears at the same location on a computer screen. Most of the symbols are digits, but some are letters, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislas-dehaene/a-stream-of-symbols-appears-at-the-same-location-on-a-computer-screen/) [Stanislas Dehaene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislas-dehaene/) > [“...numbers rule our lives. Indeed, they lie at the heart of our technology.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislas-dehaene/numbers-rule-our-lives-indeed-they-lie-at-the-heart-of-our-technology/) [Stanislas Dehaene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislas-dehaene/) > [“In many experiments, the boundary between seeing and not seeing is relatively sharp: an image is downright invisible when presented for 40 milliseconds, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislas-dehaene/in-many-experiments-the-boundary-between-seeing-and-not-seeing-is/) [Stanislas Dehaene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislas-dehaene/) > [“What counts as genuine consciousness, I will argue, is conscious access-the simple fact that usually, whenever we are awake, whatever we decide to focus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislas-dehaene/what-counts-as-genuine-consciousness-i-will-argue-is-conscious-access/) [Stanislas Dehaene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislas-dehaene/) > [“An important consequence of these observations is that our consciousness of unexpected events lags considerably behind the real world. Not only do we consciously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislas-dehaene/an-important-consequence-of-these-observations-is-that-our/) [Stanislas Dehaene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislas-dehaene/) > [“In point of fact, the greater one’s science, the deeper the sense of mystery. —Vladimir”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislas-dehaene/in-point-of-fact-the-greater-one-s-science-the-deeper-the-sense-of/) [Stanislas Dehaene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislas-dehaene/) > [“glued to the top of the head. On conscious trials only, an ample voltage wave sweeps through this region. It starts around 270 milliseconds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislas-dehaene/glued-to-the-top-of-the-head-on-conscious-trials-only-an-ample/) [Stanislas Dehaene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislas-dehaene/) > [“Conscious access is also the gateway to more complex forms of conscious experience. In everyday language, we often conflate our Consciousness with our sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislas-dehaene/conscious-access-is-also-the-gateway-to-more-complex-forms-of/) [Stanislas Dehaene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislas-dehaene/) > [“distinguish the mere correlates of consciousness from the genuine signatures of consciousness. Although the quest for the brain mechanisms of conscious experience is often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislas-dehaene/distinguish-the-mere-correlates-of-consciousness-from-the-genuine/) [Stanislas Dehaene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislas-dehaene/) [Explore all 19 Stanislas Dehaene quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislas-dehaene/) ## More Pay attention quotes > [ I went to a mosque in Philadelphia with \[my wife\] in December 24, 1999. And we we went to this mosque in Philly, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahershala-ali/i-went-to-a-mosque-in-philadelphia-with-my-wife-in-december-24-1999/) [Mahershala Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahershala-ali/) > [Ripped across tha ditch, settled in dirt... Wear you like a stitch, yet I'm the one who's hurt... 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I guess somebody wasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/there-is-a-nationwide-shortage-of-drugs-for-attention-deficit/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [If you want a Real Man sit up straight close your legs and pay attention :)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frenchqueen/if-you-want-a-real-man-sit-up-straight-close-your-legs-and-pay/) [Frenchqueen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frenchqueen/) > [Attention is a limited resource, so pay attention to where you pay attention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-rheingold/attention-is-a-limited-resource-so-pay-attention-to-where-you-pay/) [Howard Rheingold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-rheingold/) > [The earliest language was body language and, since this language is the language of questions, if we limit the questions, and if we only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-freire/the-earliest-language-was-body-language-and-since-this-language-is/) [Paulo Freire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-freire/) > [I want my whole life to be a great work of art, not just my art. And that means paying attention to my entire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jewel/i-want-my-whole-life-to-be-a-great-work-of-art-not-just-my-art-and/) [Jewel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jewel/) > [I want people to just be paying attention even if they're not necessarily laughing at something, or if it takes them a while to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-want-people-to-just-be-paying-attention-even-if-they-re-not/) [Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/) > [“The accident in your rearview mirror already happened. The one in front of you is still preventable. Pay attention.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nakia-r-laushaul/the-accident-in-your-rearview-mirror-already-happened-the-one-in/) [Nakia R. Laushaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nakia-r-laushaul/) > [The only thing I pay attention to with free throws is what a guy does in the final four minutes of a game. 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'If something happens you will be able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwood-anderson/doctor-parcival-began-to-plead-with-george-willard-you-must-pay/) [Sherwood Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwood-anderson/) [Browse all 2,767 Pay attention quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pay-attention/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“...an arthropod with twenty-one body segments and forty-two legs, is commonly called a centipede (one hundred feet) in English and a \"mille-pattes\" (thousand legs) in French! 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