What Shape Is Your Figure? 

 
"I hope good luck lies in odd numbers . . ." 

-William Shakespeare - The Merry Wives of Windsor

The figures or number symbols we use today evolved like letters. The Babylonians, who invented one of the first forms of writing, used arrowhead-shaped marks, pressed in clay tablets, for numbers. Each number, one through nine, was represented by the same number of marks. This was as a child shows his or her age with fingers; the very basics of counting. The Greeks, however, used a unique letter symbol for each number and the symbol didn't resemble finger counting. 

 

Numbers originated from finger counting. The Latin word for finger is digitu s and numbers used in writing are often called digits. The English words for numbers are based on ten-finger counting. Eleven comes from an Old English word that means "one left over". Twelve comes from twelf, which means "two left over." It is easy to see that thirteen is "three and ten." Twenty is "two tens." 

 

Our present numerals came from a 3,000 year-old Hindu system of counting. The Arabs adopted the Hindu numbers. The Arabs excelled in math and developed the foundations of algebra, trigonometry, astronomy, and optics. They brought their number symbols into Spain about 1,300 years ago and the figures became know as Arabic numerals. They also brought the concept of nothing or the zero from India, which didn't exist in other number systems. 

 

Meanwhile, Europe was laboring under the burden of the Roman numeral system. Another extension of finger counting, where letters such as I, V, X, L, C, and M stood for basic amounts and combinations could be used to represent other quantities. Like Latin, any written records or literature used by Europeans was from Rome. 

As late as the 17th century, Roman numerals were being used for banking and bookkeeping, because it was easier to add and subtract with a system based on finger counting. In some banks, only Roman numerals were allowed, because Arabic numerals were too easy to alter. (For example 0 to 6 and 3 to 8). Roman numerals makes most higher mathematical functions more difficult, but the legacy of the system can be seen throughout printing in chapter numbers, preface page numbers, and outlines. 

As the Arabic numerals were adopted they were cast to go into fonts of type. Over all, they resembled the hand written versions, but were modified to match the letter style of their parent font. In certain instances, the letters were given a variable width space. This created problems of vertical alignment, however, and a mono-proportional space was adopted. It was based on one half a blank em-space and called an en-space. The em-space was the square of the point size of the type. The en-space is also called a "figure space" because it is the width of the numbers or figures. Old style figures were type faces designed to go with more traditional typefaces. The emphasis of design was on readability. Most modern figures rest on or line up on the base line of the type. There are no descenders in these letters. This is most practical for most uses. Old style figures, however are not "lining". The numbers 3, 4, 5, 7, and 9 are designed as descenders. Each figure is more distinctive and this avoids the possibility of confusing numbers like 3 and 8.

Modern design has given us the style of numbers on bank checks for magnetic-ink reading. Here the technology dictates that the number be designed to be more readable by machine than by the human eye. The various bar code devices used on merchandise and mail are completely unreadable by the human eye, but like the Babylonians, we are still counting our numbers. Roman Numeral Jokes for Printers

Printers are traditionalists and have held on to the use of Roman numerals through history for chapter numbers and preface page numbers. 

There have even been jokes associated with Roman numerals. 

Questions:

1. How does a Roman printer order 5 drinks in a bar? 
2. How does a Roman printer order 10 drinks in a bar? 
3. When does one from 19 equal twenty? 
4. When is half of 12 seven? 
5. Can you, by adding one line, make this number IX into 6? 

  

Answers: 

1. Hold up two fingers. (victory or peace sign) V 
2. Cross two fingers. X 
3. In Roman numerals XIX is 19. Remove the one in the middle to get XX or twenty. 
4. In Roman numerals XII is 12. If you erase the bottom half of the number you get VII or seven. 
5. Sure! SIX. S is one line isn't it ? . . . . . . . Got ya!