DUMB AND NUMBER(s)

Our regular somnambulist has met with a 'cat'astrophe ( you know sleepwalking can be really dangerous ). While he recuperates this is a feeble attempt at keeping the column alive. Let's all pray for his well-being.



"Numb"ers aren't called that for nothing. Not that I am scared of them, in fact when I have time to spare I quite like playing with them but the moment I lay my eyes on these creepy creatures in the examination hall my mind stops functioning and my hands get numb. Having been through such a "cat"astrophe just last week, I simply feel like eradicating the whole number-system from the present, past and future of all mankind!

What a wonderful world it would be...a world without numbers. A world where you won't be embarrassed by people enquiring about your age for no one would keep 'count' of the days, where you could gorge on all the food you want without having to 'count' the calories, where your team leader won't prod you on to deliver within specified deadlines - your deadline will be met as and when you complete the work! - and of course, no more stupid number-crunching exams!

Hey there's more to it! You wouldn't be worrying about your bank balance any more and come to think of it, neither about the 'number' of spouses you take! The world will be governed by nonquantifiable entities like love, compassion, ethics, values - things we are so used to discounting as being emotional folly - instead of the usual money and vote counts. Maybe that would be UTOPIA after all.

Strangely enough, the strongest case against numbers is being made by modern mathematics with its emphasis on fuzzy logic ( where 'ranges' of numbers are used to do away with the injustice of explicit cut-off values ) and fractal/chaos theories ( where it turns out that 'imaginary' numbers are more applicable to real world problems! ). Maybe the world is finally waking up to the fallacies of a dumb acceptance of numbers and counts as the guiding beacon of our lives; hopefully someday we will teach our children to use their precious fingers for playing the guitar 'before' we teach their use for counting.

Let's wrap up this session with a quote from the master himself, Albert Einstein, who said, "Not all that can be counted counts, and not all that counts can be counted."


-sumandatta