For those of us who despise math -- and most of us writers do -- it's hard to accept that some aspects of life are all about the numbers. Especially when there are so many of them about such crucial things to keep track of:
How much money is in my bank account?
How many days until the milk expires?
What's my cholesterol? Blood sugar? Blood pressure?
How many days until my next period?
How many more crunches before I can plop back on the couch?
How many miles are on my car?
How many hours of sleep until I'm really rested?
And, of course, the killjoy of killjoys that lurks everywhere:
How many COVID cases in my county?
Everyone has a body and a bank account, so there's no escaping these nefarious numerals. Yet if age is just a number, then why can't all these things be just numbers too? You know, up to interpretation, like song lyrics or a journal entry. Some people find comfort in knowing that 2 + 2 always = 4. But to me, numbers are unforgiving. They don't care if you had a bad day that drove you to buy an ice cream maker ($100), crank out a batch of butter brickle (cholesterol, blood sugar, and BP through the roof), and stay up all night watching The Great British Baking Show (3 hours sleep). Letters, on the other hand, are so much more sympathetic. They make up words designed to describe how that day made you feel, turning it into art instead of a series of 0s and 1s that don't add up on a computer.
Then again, maybe numbers neurosis isn't a writer thing but a me thing.
No wonder I'd rather read than count sheep.
8 comments:
Oh, I was always a romantic with numbers. Even when I was little I was making them a soap opera. I guess I wasn't meant to be a numberist either. Such a fun post. And thanks for giving us a lot to think on..
My friend can't taste anything and it was her birthday..the one with Covid. She is the one I get some of my story ideas from. The first time I called her she was so out of it. I didn't know what she was on, but then she called me a few days later. Hopefully, she is better. She says she sleeps and reads a lot. She isn't really taking anything for COVID.
As for my Lynsey story..it's interesting to see people's different reactions with having a baby around.
Oh, that's so cool watching the British Baking Show! I haven't watched it in a while. It's so interesting to get the history of the British baking too. Things I would never take such a long time to bake. Although, I keep telling myself..you need to bake or you might forget how. So if I could make a cake from scratch that would be nice. I do love a good cupcake or brownie!
Hopefully, I am getting ahead on my storylines..but somehow..I always feel I am leaving someone out.
I won't like..I am bad at math. I have no memory how this is supposed to go to one place and this is to stay at the library too..when it comes to get the daily report together at the library. Which I might do twice a month..maybe.
I did make a few more sublimations yesterday in the maker's space. Unfortunately, we don't seem to have any good practices for spacing the print job on the shirt. Talk about troubling equations with the heat press. We had a contest with the staff. Of course, the one I liked didn't win FAROUT SINCE 1975 (includes a picture of our building) of course, the director doesn't like this one.
I have been having more fun with "only a faceclaim". Although, I go about it totally different from the person who inspired me with her sets on URSTYLE. I just focus on the character and her life. Not so much what kind of job she might have. And I am not always inspired by the latest trendy people.
Hope you have a wonderful weekend!
I never thought about it before, but my very closest friend is a professional writer and she HATES and is afraid of math. I learned so much about you in your life in your numbers questions including that you put some effort into keeping that stunning figure. I think I am a math person who spent years to develop my writing and in my 50's I went back to graduate school and went from a special education teacher to a high school English teacher.
Beautiful blog
I totally get the preference for letters over numbers!!! I'm one of those who despises math, too - I've always been terrible at it no matter how hard I tried. And yes, numbers are EXTREMELY unforgiving, like numbers on a scale!! Letters are way more kind and welcoming, any day of the week! Just that photo alone of those happy letters says it all. 😀
If there is such a thing as a mathematical dyslexic, that would be me. I panick just at the site of numbers. I have tried to deal with them, I really have, but I just can’t do it. This was a fun post.
Now it's made me think of our tv show "Letters and Numbers". Or as the UK calls is "8 out of 10 cats does countdown". I have no idea how they came up with that name.
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