From admission to application, Travel to telecommunication, banking to business, deficit to defence, mathematics to materials, ration to registration, and population to politics, this one thing is inevitable.
It is like the soul - invisible but powerful. It had even recently appeared in a news item along side the soul, when a poet compared the square root of minus one to a soul.
The name of the soul, if one is permitted to name it, is number. Even then it is not so simple – whether it is odd, even, prime, and real or imaginary number has to be taken into account , before venturing to invite relatives & friends for the christening ceremony!
Truly the number has spread its wings wide and farther – shrinking, in numerical value to the size of an electron and growing to the size of the universe! It is as fascinating to the number crunchers (mathematicians) as the heaven is to the star gazers (astronomers). One is searching for the largest prime number and the other is focused on the farthest point of light & life
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It has not left even the statisticians and psephologists from its influence. They have a field at the 24X7 TV stations, during worse economic times and during elections, though both may predict nightmares but use numbers as their props.
It has not left even the statisticians and psephologists from its influence. They have a field at the 24X7 TV stations, during worse economic times and during elections, though both may predict nightmares but use numbers as their props.
The number is not afraid of the endless human manipulation it suffers - square, cube and up to nth roots - a tortuous path in division and subdivision. On the other side, square, cube and up to nth power - it explodes like a bomb!
It takes to square roots or squares to spreads wings with equanimity, never grumbling and not getting carried away at the claim of some one finding the largest prime number or weary of accommodating the possibility of some one coming with an infinite number and immediately another disputing it with a infinity+, a never ending game!
In its mind it is very clear that an attribute to a positive number applies equally to a negative number- real or imaginary.
It is not afraid of unknowns and knows fully well that they too will get resolved in to mere numbers. Meter long equations do not bother it: knows the out put will again result only in numbers!
Let us count the numbers we come up with. But before that we shall meet a special one – the fancy number. Like vastu, numerology and Feng Shui, the fancy number commands a premium and goes to the highest bidder.
Every citizen’s life is touched by the number- literally from cradle to grave. DOB and DOD are the foundation and capstone in the human life. Like pre-natal care, the number takes hold of a human life as a serial number, ward number, student roll no, exam hall ticket number and finally as the marks scored.
As life continues, the number still follows – number of digit in the salary, savings & taxes, ticket number, seat number, route number, PNR number and flight number. Bank account numbers, token number, debit/credit card number, phone number, passport number…. The Neanderthal humans were blessed ones - a million times!
In the form of figures, they play an important role in Nation’s economy - GDP, CAD and inflation index. Numbers are plain speaking and do not fit when a little attraction or distraction is needed. Frightening numbers are reduced to percentiles and presented as lines & curves in graphs – numbers taking the avatar as figures!
It leaves an indelible mark in the population and electoral front too. State or central government cannot be formed with out its help – a magical number or a simple majority in the House. In serious law making, it plays a vital role in the form of statutory strength of a 2/3rd majority. Here the number is used as mighty tool!
Even the .net domain is not free of its influence – bit, byte and so on. The surfers have taken a fancy to use the number as part of user name or the pass word! Numerology plays the number game to the hilt, by adding & subtracting alphabets from one’s given name, assuring a positive direction in life.
They have gained influence of astronomical proportions. Evolving from the human minds, it had reached the very origin of this universe-counting & numbering the galaxies on the way, for good measure!
The politicians who are not afraid of anything get scared at the hustings. Counting, recounting, wafer thin margin – all boils down to the number!
The sports persons are not far behind – the number of moves, runs, winning by a whisker, photo finish – all result in only numbers.
Whatever be the method of calculation, it remains unwavering in its direction & magnitude – a figure you can’t argue with. If imaginary numbers are made up to bury the truth, the real number will haunt every second of the rest of life.
It is very attractive in the good times or the opposite in bad times – a Jekyll & Hyde in numbers.
The number is so unique – it precedes, stays or succeeds you with an equal ease. Digs up the past and displays it as history.
In the present it leaves the majority puzzled, pleased or downright distraught - the modus operandi is by presenting problems, delivering a rosy economic picture or by ushering in an economic melt-down.
Not to leave the future untouched, it paves the road you have to take, dangling the dream of the future!
Finally as the day of departure comes, age of the deceased is counted and DOD is remembered, again as numbers! The spirit of the numbers cannot be contained.
Dear number is Nemesis thy name!
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