Eleven Boats
“Lovely picture. Nine boats!” he said happily.
“I’m sorry?” I replied.
"Nine boats!"
"What?"
"Nine boats. In the photo. There's Nine boats in the photo. Nine!”
He looked at me as if I should understand his excitement.
“No.” I said, “There are eleven boats in the photo. Not nine. Count again."
"Eleven boats?"
"Yes. Eleven boats."
"Not Nine?"
"No. Not nine."
He paused, and looked down to his left.
"It's a nice number though, isn't it, Nine,” he said brightly, “Special.”
"If you say so. Is that why you capitalise your nines, because they’re special?”
"Yes. They're special, Nines."
"I see. Why?"
"Well," he said, "take any number you like, say, 457251 for example, then reduce it to a single digit number by adding all of the numbers together; so, 4+5+7+2+5+1=24, and then 2+4=6. So 457251 reduces to 6."
"Yes, but what's that got to do with a nine?" I asked, somewhat bemused.
"Well," he answered, again with a distinct note of excitement in his voice, "did you spot that both the 4 and the 5, and the 7 and the 2 both add up to 9? And also, that those two Nines add up to 18 and that 1+8=9? So then it's just 9+5+1=15 and 1+5=6!!"
“Err, well, no, I didn't spot that, what's the point though?"
"The point is that when you're trying to reduce any number to a single digit using the addition method, you can just ignore any numbers that either are Nine or that add up to Nine. Just forget them and add up what's left. So for 457251 just add up the last two digits to get your answer."
"In fact," he continued, "you could add to that 457251 any combination of numbers that add up to Nine and it would still resolve to a six! Like, 922545725163 still adds up to six!"
He went on to add all the numbers up, to prove his point…
"Look - 9+2+2+5+4+5+7+2+5+1+6+3=51 and then 5+1=6! Or, if you just ignore that first Nine you get 2+2+5+4+5+7+2+5+1+6+3=42 and then 4+2 = 6. Or ignore the 22545 because that all adds up to Nine and you’re left with 9+7+2+5+1+6+3=33 and 3+3=6!”
He practically shouted “You can just ignore all of the Nines and the numbers that add up to Nine!"
I looked at him, unable to deny his logic, but equally unable to fathom why it was that anyone would want to reduce big numbers to a single digit number. So I asked, with just a little bewilderment, "Why would you want to do that - the reduction? What purpose does it serve?”
"Oh, well, to make decisions." he said.
"To make decisions?”
"Yes, you know when you can't decide what to do; one thing or the other.”
“You use it to make decisions?”
“Yes.”
“Meaningful decisions?
“Sometimes, yes.”
“But, how? How can a single digit number possibly influence a decision?”
“Well, obviously, if the result’s a good number then that’s a positive affirmation of your choice of action; you’ll likely get a positive result from your decision, and vice-versa.”
“But,” I paused briefly and rubbed my eyebrow, “but what governs whether a number is good, or bad? And how are they linked to a particular decision?”
“Oh, you just use any numbers that might be associated with your problematic choices, and the good numbers are one, three, seven and of course Nine. All the others are bad, except for eight, which can be good sometimes, especially if you add a one. And, of course if you add a two to a seven then you get a Nine, so that two’s good; likewise a four added to a five, they’re good too. A six with a three. It’s all quite simple really.”
“Simple.” I said quietly.
“Yes. Easy. But I don’t like your photo anymore” he said, shaking his head as he spoke, “It adds up to two.”
--
Don't ask.
Usual caveats etc.
Boats at Dell Quay, Chichester, West Sussex.
Eleven Boats
“Lovely picture. Nine boats!” he said happily.
“I’m sorry?” I replied.
"Nine boats!"
"What?"
"Nine boats. In the photo. There's Nine boats in the photo. Nine!”
He looked at me as if I should understand his excitement.
“No.” I said, “There are eleven boats in the photo. Not nine. Count again."
"Eleven boats?"
"Yes. Eleven boats."
"Not Nine?"
"No. Not nine."
He paused, and looked down to his left.
"It's a nice number though, isn't it, Nine,” he said brightly, “Special.”
"If you say so. Is that why you capitalise your nines, because they’re special?”
"Yes. They're special, Nines."
"I see. Why?"
"Well," he said, "take any number you like, say, 457251 for example, then reduce it to a single digit number by adding all of the numbers together; so, 4+5+7+2+5+1=24, and then 2+4=6. So 457251 reduces to 6."
"Yes, but what's that got to do with a nine?" I asked, somewhat bemused.
"Well," he answered, again with a distinct note of excitement in his voice, "did you spot that both the 4 and the 5, and the 7 and the 2 both add up to 9? And also, that those two Nines add up to 18 and that 1+8=9? So then it's just 9+5+1=15 and 1+5=6!!"
“Err, well, no, I didn't spot that, what's the point though?"
"The point is that when you're trying to reduce any number to a single digit using the addition method, you can just ignore any numbers that either are Nine or that add up to Nine. Just forget them and add up what's left. So for 457251 just add up the last two digits to get your answer."
"In fact," he continued, "you could add to that 457251 any combination of numbers that add up to Nine and it would still resolve to a six! Like, 922545725163 still adds up to six!"
He went on to add all the numbers up, to prove his point…
"Look - 9+2+2+5+4+5+7+2+5+1+6+3=51 and then 5+1=6! Or, if you just ignore that first Nine you get 2+2+5+4+5+7+2+5+1+6+3=42 and then 4+2 = 6. Or ignore the 22545 because that all adds up to Nine and you’re left with 9+7+2+5+1+6+3=33 and 3+3=6!”
He practically shouted “You can just ignore all of the Nines and the numbers that add up to Nine!"
I looked at him, unable to deny his logic, but equally unable to fathom why it was that anyone would want to reduce big numbers to a single digit number. So I asked, with just a little bewilderment, "Why would you want to do that - the reduction? What purpose does it serve?”
"Oh, well, to make decisions." he said.
"To make decisions?”
"Yes, you know when you can't decide what to do; one thing or the other.”
“You use it to make decisions?”
“Yes.”
“Meaningful decisions?
“Sometimes, yes.”
“But, how? How can a single digit number possibly influence a decision?”
“Well, obviously, if the result’s a good number then that’s a positive affirmation of your choice of action; you’ll likely get a positive result from your decision, and vice-versa.”
“But,” I paused briefly and rubbed my eyebrow, “but what governs whether a number is good, or bad? And how are they linked to a particular decision?”
“Oh, you just use any numbers that might be associated with your problematic choices, and the good numbers are one, three, seven and of course Nine. All the others are bad, except for eight, which can be good sometimes, especially if you add a one. And, of course if you add a two to a seven then you get a Nine, so that two’s good; likewise a four added to a five, they’re good too. A six with a three. It’s all quite simple really.”
“Simple.” I said quietly.
“Yes. Easy. But I don’t like your photo anymore” he said, shaking his head as he spoke, “It adds up to two.”
--
Don't ask.
Usual caveats etc.
Boats at Dell Quay, Chichester, West Sussex.