Words, Like Numbers
Many people seem to think that the math-minded are living on a planet far, far away from the realm of those with a humanities-oriented orbit. But as the study of mathematics and science grows purer and purer, the hereditary tree of thought seems to blur with the study of linguistics and rhetoric. There's a common ancestor, and science tells us that there's such an ancestor that exists for everything around us.
Numbers are the building blocks of mathematics; that's why we start out learning to count in our younger years, and the concept of quantity takes us a few years to grasp. But then again, we have a boost from our understanding of language- what is a sentence but an arrangement of just the right words in just the right places? All of language is an arrangement of words, so we can understand that synthesis is a large part of our grasp of the world.
But what's interesting is that, for those of us who think we're hopeless in mathematics, it certainly isn't quite as easy to excel as a communicator through language. Consider that there are only 10 numerals that we can use to denote a number, and that all the operations of math (even at the calculus level and beyond) traces back to a few key functions. The alphabet from which we speak in English is made up of 26 letters; some languages more, some languages less (the Kabardian script has 58)- and one thing can be said a billion different ways. We STILL struggle with word choice and placement!
In quantity we describe the largest and the smallest numbers with mere words- you can use just one character to denote the cosmos itself. So words have that power. But some numbers are more powerful than words can describe- infinity is one thing when said, but another when considered. So in that way numbers and letters go hand in hand.
But why do we feel more confortable in numbers, or in letters? Perhaps the permutations of letters are easier calculated than attempted, or a simple four-letter command can have your accountant do the math for you. But this month, we're focusing on the dark matter, the e's and i's of language. There are words that fall through the cracks, words that we are never introduced to traditionally and still ought to be. We are forced to build our vocabulary on our own, while in many cases the terminology of quantity is provided to us. We underestimate the complexity of language all too often because we are afraid to confront it in its multi-digit entirety. But that doesn't mean we can't try.
