This always reminds me of the following Feynman story about how we do something as "simple" as counting: http://calteches.library.caltech.edu/607/2/Feynman.pdf

This always reminds me of the following Feynman story about how we do something as "simple" as counting: http://calteches.library.caltech.edu/607/2/Feynman.pdf http://calteches.library.caltech.edu/607/2/Feynman.pdf Anecdotally, most people I've asked (myself included) seem to have an easier time counting in their first langugae, even if they haven't spoken it very often in years (I'm far more fluent in my second language, English). So it seems like for many mental tasks, there can be a variety of neural implementations. OTOH early sensory areas in the brain all seem more or less isomorphic (modulo injury & disease). Where, when, how do individual brains start to diverge?