When our minds are still sponges, at that tender age where our duty is to observe and act cute on command, we learn from our teacher ,the giant yellow bird with an imagination problem, how to count. First the basic 1-10, and then deviations of the arabic symbols we call numbers onward. From there, I believe, a world of problems start.
It is from this moment we learn how many more fruit snacks Timmy has than you. It is this age that we learn Mommy spends ‘x’ ammount of time fixing her hair, but only ‘y’ ammount of time playing Jenga with you. We now can record when we are to expect, when we are to be disappointed, how much longer we have to suffer, how much longer we have left together, etc. etc.
Would life be more meaningful without the stress of math? Think of how many of the world’s problems involve these numbers: money to some degree would be meaningless, age something that’s relative, and time comletely subjective. We would never be stressed to lose that 5 pounds, pay back that 36 dollars that we owe or race to an interview 15 minutes early to find that we are actually 20 minutes late.
Would humans be able to let go of this control? Because that’s what the number system ultimately is…a way to control the world around you through science and probability. Would humans be able to get there when they feel like it, wake when they are ready, pay what they feel is right, not worry about what the scale says but rather how they feel…or would the world be too up in the air?
Would the world be ok living on the basis of just trying; not having to make that certain percent, or would we find another way to torture ourselves?
The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings.
~Eric Hoffer, Reflections On The Human Condition
