The Mystery of The Number Symbols

“So the “mystery” is this: the forms of the number symbols seem to be designed in such a manner as to indicate a preconceived intention to create symbols bearing the marks of the logic uniting the greater overall system. But it was not. Historically, these symbols evolved chaotically, haphazardly, and independently. Could it be that nature has taken the initiative, gifting a sign for all to see that the force of the spirit is at work?”

Have you ever really looked at the forms of the symbols of what has truly become the worlds’ first global language, at least since the time of Babel? Nobody ever consciously designed them to reflect their roles within the greater system as a whole. Nobody ever consciously thought that the symbol for the two should be the same as the five (but juxtaposed). And that four should be the same symbol as the seven; the six the same as the nine; or that the three should be, for some reason, found hidden in the eight. Yet, they certainly are.

Now the essence of these number forms as they are commonly written is obviously mirror-type imaging of one another. So the mystery is only compounded when we discover the schematic of order and symmetry based solely on the forms of the symbols.

Obviously we could design a system of ten characters which could produce an orderly and symmetric schematic based purely on the forms of its’ symbols if that was our intent. And more importantly, not without our most steadfast purpose would the order amongst the forms of those symbols also be a reflection of the order and inherent structuring within the system of base-ten itself, such as occurs naturally in the set of forms adopted the world over.
It wouldn’t take long after observing the schematic of order and symmetry for one to see that the two actually is related to the five. The base of the system is ten with the one and zero co-equal rulers. They preside over four pairs of identically symbolized quantities. But only the two and five can divide the base evenly. Ten divided by two is five; and ten divided by five is two. The influence of this quality is reflected in the symbols since a horizontal line dividing the ten gives birth to the forms of the two and the five (see illustration on front cover). But the structuring uniting these forms goes much deeper.

The table (above) reveals the number sequences unique to each quantity’s successive powers. Any number to the zeroth power is one, so the powers of two begin 1,2,4,8… 16 is expressed as 7 (1+6=7), 32 becomes a 5 (3+2=5), 64 a 1 (6+4=10 and 1+0=1). Rendered in this fashion this sequence will continue forever. Those describing the powers of the other numbers are derived in the same manner. Now look at the powers of two in the top row of the table. They’re simply the powers of five backwards (second row down)! The powers of four, 1471471, are the powers of seven backwards. The affinity between six and nine is also obvious.
But the 3 and the 8, which share the same symbolism, deviate from the three previous pairs in that their power sequences don’t seem to have any correlation. However, the 2 and 5 can merge and morph “topologically” into the symbol for three. Likewise does the symbol for 8 derive from a merging and morphing of the 6 and 9. If you look at the number line (based on the shapes of the ten symbols) one can’t help but notice that the 2 and 5 sandwich the 3 on the left side of the schematic in the exact same way as the 6 and 9 sandwich the 8 on the right side. Keep in mind, none of this order would be happening had the symbols assumed other shapes or forms.

So the “mystery” is this: the forms of the number symbols seem to be designed in such a manner as to indicate a preconceived intention to create symbols bearing the marks of the logic uniting the greater overall system. But it was not. Historically, these symbols evolved chaotically, haphazardly, and independently. Could it be that nature has taken the initiative, gifting a sign for all to see that the force of the spirit is at work?

So Where Did The Number Symbols Come From?
Confusion abounds regarding the origin of the symbols. We call them “Arabic”, or “Hindu-Arabic” numerals, which is probably fitting since some of the symbols appear independently in India, Egypt, Persia, and Arabia. It’s probable that traders, who needed a workable number system , carried the symbolic forms used in their homelands along with the goods that they exchanged. History is the obvious place to look for the forms’ origins. And the historical record shows that the present forms result from a gradual evolution over nearly a thousand year period.

~Paul Kasprzycki

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The Mystery of The Number Symbols

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