Bill Conrad's Blog - Posts Tagged "numbers"
Numbers
Modern society runs on numbers and it’s essential for all of us to understand their significance. We have stock markets, accountants, statisticians, mathematicians and computers which are all dedicated to numbers. Together, they produce petabytes of data every day that fill every corner of our lives. Today, I weighed 120.2 pounds. Yay! How about 220.2 pounds? Is that too much? My weight is only a number and yet, I am aware that it is a measure of my health and how others perceive me.
Numbers quantify and distinguish with infinite precision. “Bob tried to start the car three times.” Why not four or two? The number three precisely describes Bob’s tenacity and the car’s status. Yet, only readers who use cars are able to appreciate this number. “Karen needed $120 to pay for the ticket.” This number directly relates to Karen’s finances. For a wealthy person, this sum would be insignificant while it would exceed the life’s savings of a poor person.
We are only able to quantify time with a number. “Fred used 15 minutes to complete his task.” The reader can now precisely comprehend Fred’s level of frustration, time management, and time investment. Readers appreciate his sacrifice as they have worked on tasks requiring 15 minutes.
Humans love to round numbers. “How many nails do you have? About a hundred.” Why not, “Exactly 98.” Or, “About 110.” Sometimes we round to even, tens or five’s. “That took over 20 minutes.” “The speed is 55 miles per hour.” “It’s 50 kilometers to Chicago.” “We need 12 eggs.” Has anybody ever needed 11 or 13 eggs?
We also need to correlate our numbers to something intangible. I suspect we have a primal instinct to depend on known values that provide our lives with references. 220 pounds is a good weight. 15 minutes is not enough time to walk to school. $100 dollars is too much.
Numbers allow us to have descriptions containing great precision. Bob cannot start the car 3.5 times. He either turns the key or not. Yet, I can define my weight with near-infinite precision, 99.12345678 pounds. Yes, I did make that number up. It’s obvious because the fractional part of the number is in numerical order. Plus, readers know that bathroom weights work in increments of 0.1 pounds.
Humans cling to strange numerical beliefs. Seven is a lucky number. Thirteen is unlucky. Cats have nine lives. We even have a numerical religion/belief called Numerology. For some people, their weddings must occur on a certain day. Houses may not be purchased with a street number containing a 9. Being born on the first day of a month is a bad sign.
As a writer, I think a lot about numbers. What is a good number of attempts for Bob to start his car? How would my character react to spending $120? How long does a task take to complete? It’s important for characters to properly interact with realistic numbers. Sally finished her minimum wage job and spent $500 on a burger. A perfectly valid sentence, yet readers easily spot the error.
In a good story, the proper use of numbers is essential. Errors are easy identified and a less than perfect number will leave readers annoyed. Yet, numbers represent power. A writer may define characters with extreme precision. Bob tried to start the car over 100 times. What a fighter! The ending of this blog took only one sentence.
Numbers quantify and distinguish with infinite precision. “Bob tried to start the car three times.” Why not four or two? The number three precisely describes Bob’s tenacity and the car’s status. Yet, only readers who use cars are able to appreciate this number. “Karen needed $120 to pay for the ticket.” This number directly relates to Karen’s finances. For a wealthy person, this sum would be insignificant while it would exceed the life’s savings of a poor person.
We are only able to quantify time with a number. “Fred used 15 minutes to complete his task.” The reader can now precisely comprehend Fred’s level of frustration, time management, and time investment. Readers appreciate his sacrifice as they have worked on tasks requiring 15 minutes.
Humans love to round numbers. “How many nails do you have? About a hundred.” Why not, “Exactly 98.” Or, “About 110.” Sometimes we round to even, tens or five’s. “That took over 20 minutes.” “The speed is 55 miles per hour.” “It’s 50 kilometers to Chicago.” “We need 12 eggs.” Has anybody ever needed 11 or 13 eggs?
We also need to correlate our numbers to something intangible. I suspect we have a primal instinct to depend on known values that provide our lives with references. 220 pounds is a good weight. 15 minutes is not enough time to walk to school. $100 dollars is too much.
Numbers allow us to have descriptions containing great precision. Bob cannot start the car 3.5 times. He either turns the key or not. Yet, I can define my weight with near-infinite precision, 99.12345678 pounds. Yes, I did make that number up. It’s obvious because the fractional part of the number is in numerical order. Plus, readers know that bathroom weights work in increments of 0.1 pounds.
Humans cling to strange numerical beliefs. Seven is a lucky number. Thirteen is unlucky. Cats have nine lives. We even have a numerical religion/belief called Numerology. For some people, their weddings must occur on a certain day. Houses may not be purchased with a street number containing a 9. Being born on the first day of a month is a bad sign.
As a writer, I think a lot about numbers. What is a good number of attempts for Bob to start his car? How would my character react to spending $120? How long does a task take to complete? It’s important for characters to properly interact with realistic numbers. Sally finished her minimum wage job and spent $500 on a burger. A perfectly valid sentence, yet readers easily spot the error.
In a good story, the proper use of numbers is essential. Errors are easy identified and a less than perfect number will leave readers annoyed. Yet, numbers represent power. A writer may define characters with extreme precision. Bob tried to start the car over 100 times. What a fighter! The ending of this blog took only one sentence.
Roman Numerals
Education did not come easily for me, especially at the beginning. Right when I mainly had grasped basic arithmetic, the teacher introduced something radical, Roman Numerals. What are they? A long time ago, before numerical symbols like 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 were invented, the Romans developed an unorthodox method. For example, three capital I’s represented the number 3, III. Unfortunately, numbers quickly became confusing. Four was IV, five was V, and six was VI. Addition and subtraction are required to count? Lame!
My six-year-old brain hurt when the teacher explained Roman Numerals, and I could not determine why we were not using what we already knew 4, 5, 6. The answer is that Roman Numerals are the classic method and uplift a document. Umm, alright. Not a great sell.
Today, we have many ways to represent numbers, including binary (computer gobblygook), hex (more computer gobblygook), text (twenty-six), floating point (complex computer gobblygook), fractions, morse code, color code (electrical engineering gobblygook), maritime flag and even imaginary (complex math gobblygook). Did you get the joke? Imaginary numbers are complex. Hahaha. Alright, too much math.
Why am I discussing this topic? It is time to retire Roman Numerals because they are no longer helpful, which would be one less thing to cram into our overloaded brains. Do they have a legitimate use? I would argue that Roman Numerals, Egyptian pictographs, Inca rope knot language, smoke signals, and semaphores (railroad flags) have no use because we have developed better methods. Plus, we have thoroughly recorded Roman Numerals history and structure for posterity.
Many carryovers in the English language should also be eliminated, including alternate spellings, disused words, double spaces after the period, double-spaced paragraphs, and old English fonts (fonts that are difficult to read). Plus, there are keyboard keys that never get used, print screen, scroll lock, pause, and insert.
Yeah, I’m dreaming. Roman Numerals will be used daily until our sun becomes warm to the touch. Why? Umm, tradition? That is not a sound reason, but we love traditions. Or perhaps I am an agelast? (A person who never laughs.) (Another word that we should eliminate.)
You’re the best -Bill
May 10, 2023
My six-year-old brain hurt when the teacher explained Roman Numerals, and I could not determine why we were not using what we already knew 4, 5, 6. The answer is that Roman Numerals are the classic method and uplift a document. Umm, alright. Not a great sell.
Today, we have many ways to represent numbers, including binary (computer gobblygook), hex (more computer gobblygook), text (twenty-six), floating point (complex computer gobblygook), fractions, morse code, color code (electrical engineering gobblygook), maritime flag and even imaginary (complex math gobblygook). Did you get the joke? Imaginary numbers are complex. Hahaha. Alright, too much math.
Why am I discussing this topic? It is time to retire Roman Numerals because they are no longer helpful, which would be one less thing to cram into our overloaded brains. Do they have a legitimate use? I would argue that Roman Numerals, Egyptian pictographs, Inca rope knot language, smoke signals, and semaphores (railroad flags) have no use because we have developed better methods. Plus, we have thoroughly recorded Roman Numerals history and structure for posterity.
Many carryovers in the English language should also be eliminated, including alternate spellings, disused words, double spaces after the period, double-spaced paragraphs, and old English fonts (fonts that are difficult to read). Plus, there are keyboard keys that never get used, print screen, scroll lock, pause, and insert.
Yeah, I’m dreaming. Roman Numerals will be used daily until our sun becomes warm to the touch. Why? Umm, tradition? That is not a sound reason, but we love traditions. Or perhaps I am an agelast? (A person who never laughs.) (Another word that we should eliminate.)
You’re the best -Bill
May 10, 2023
