Look at these numbers:
The last one on the right, number nine, doesn’t fit, and it’s not just because I drew question marks over its head. Read on and be prepared to abandon this planet before your head implodes….
All even numbers (two, four, six, eight and let’s include zero) have an enclosed space – a loop of some sort. Eight even has two loops! The odds, however, don’t. 1, 3, 5, 7… they are just some lines that don’t intersect themselves, thereby not cutting off any space. Except for 9!!!
My son wisely suggested that perhaps the original character for nine was lost so someone just took a six and turned it upside down. That would certainly be a likely explanation if not for the fact that the truth is far more sinister. Not even the Beatles, in their eerie “Number Nine” riff came close to the meaning of this misfit number. But, because I love you, reader, more than my own safety, I shall now reveal the true origin of number nine. Please destroy this blog post after reading.
Where Number Nine Came From and Where it’s Going:
Unfortunately, it seems that I have run out of space in this post to continue this article. I’ll be sure to get back to writing it soon. Plus, some very unsavory mathematicians are on to me and I’ve gotta get out of here. In the meantime, here’s something to click on:
By the way, thank you for your patience during my absence from blogging. It’s good to be back.
Here’s the perfect reference — “The Universal History of Numbers” by Georges Ifrah, translated from French. It seems to have everything going back to the initial concept of numbers.
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A ‘2’ only has an enclosed space if you write it a certain way. I would argue that the more correct way is indeed ‘2’.
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Of course! That’s why I drew the numbers instead of typing them in the graphic, hoping nobody would notice or really pay much attention to this post at all. I was in Montpelier yesterday, but it wasn’t the official Heady Topper Day, so I left empty handed.
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