One or many. How many? The notion of counting starts deep in human history and finds itself twisted throughout computing influencing our finest accomplishment.
Singular or plural. The notion of number has been recorded in most every language. But other concepts like zero, negative, rational, complex come later.
Decimal or binary. Logarithm. Floating point. The practicality of devices, slide rules or logic gates, exerts its influence on numbers.
Debit or credit. Accounting. Settlement. Investment. Rate of return. Inflation. The term structure of interest. Rational self-interest. Economics.
Height or width. Circumference. Temperature. Observation. Conservation. Measurement. Entropy. Experiment. Statistical significance.
Shape or color. Taste or smell. The animal in an environment. Safe. Edible. Evolution of sense. Mirror neurons. Cognition. Consciousness.
Sign or signal. Propagation. Modulation. Communication. Radio and television. Broadcasting. Messaging. Advertising. Social networking.
Friend or foe. Us or them. The tribe and its leader. Domestication. Surplus and spoils. Property. Inventory. Contracts. Law. Judgement. Jury. Votes for democracy.
Individual or community. Organization. Membership. Rights and responsibilities. Worth. Wealth. Making a living. Inheritance. Making a difference. Legacy.
Unit or aggregate. Scale. Quantity and proportion. Trade. Fungibility. Price, value and elasticity. Marketplace. Fractional shares. Exchange rate. Reserves.
At rest or in motion. Velocity. Momentum. Trajectory. Predictability. Vectors and tensors. Complexity, avalanche and chaos. Symmetry.
Stable or transition. Events. Synchronous or asynchronous. Coherent. Crystalline. Wave particle duality. Entanglement. Condensate.
Nature or nurture. Genetics. Eugenics. Disposition or destiny. Purpose. Free will. Free man. Free space. Free beer. Truth. Trust. Impact.
Code or data. Numbers. Instructions. Representations. Algorithms plus data structures. Logic. Learning. Inference. Proof. Method. Visualization. Consensus.