This really ties in to how brains and neurons work. A cluster of neurons will be primed with some sensory input. It might be the sound of the word that represents the number, or the visual impression of two items (and a sense of visual symmetry), etc...
Over time, neurons accumulate associations to other neurons associated to other stimuli that are related. Which trigger reinforcement as they are validated.
The number 10, might make you think of your fingers. The number 21 might make you think of Blackjack, 2 turtle doves, that 4 is related to "Four" written, 7 makes 8 when combined with a "counting" neuron impulse, etc...
Ultimately, we are a product of the inputs we are given, and a set of fundamental pre-wired associations (like visual symmetry detection).
This is similar to how AI neural nets in large language models can learn to create complex word associations just by inputing mountains of texts.
Over time, neurons accumulate associations to other neurons associated to other stimuli that are related. Which trigger reinforcement as they are validated.
The number 10, might make you think of your fingers. The number 21 might make you think of Blackjack, 2 turtle doves, that 4 is related to "Four" written, 7 makes 8 when combined with a "counting" neuron impulse, etc...
Ultimately, we are a product of the inputs we are given, and a set of fundamental pre-wired associations (like visual symmetry detection).
This is similar to how AI neural nets in large language models can learn to create complex word associations just by inputing mountains of texts.