[aligajani]

Whenever you do /anything/ your brain may be selecting from a probability distribution over things that can be done immediately.

There is no concrete evidence that the brain does math. If the brain did select things from a probability distribution, then why isn't everyone a math genius.

No one really knows how it works.

[circuithunter]

There's actually quite a bit of evidence suggesting that brains, both behaviorally and mechanistically, are Bayesian [0].

As for your second point, assuming that humans are Bayesian, there are many reasons why people would have variability in their mathematical ability, including different priors and differences in the ability to estimate posteriors.

[0] https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=brain+bayesian&hl=en&bt...

[Houshalter]

My dog does advanced calculus and trigonometry whenevet I throw him a ball. He calculates the trajectory, the timing of his muscles, and thousands of other variables, and catches it.

The brain absolutely does tons of math. It's just well below the level of consciousness. Most people can learn to do analog math problems well within a few percent accuracy. It's symbolic math that is foreign to us.

[smallnamespace]

Because we do these things subconsciously and intuitively, while math is done symbolically at a conscious level.

There are people who never manage to learn to do basic elementary-school math with fractions and percentages and yet manage to bet on sports and balance their checkbook because they're unable to translate their intuitive mathematical instincts into abstract formal math.

[visarga]

> If the brain did select things from a probability distribution, then why isn't everyone a math genius.

If the apple falls predictably from the tree, where is the math genius who plans its trajectory? Does the apple itself know physics?

[zump]

What's the alternative formalism?