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yuuki edited this page Jun 21, 2025 · 3 revisions

We can think of a number n as a collection of n bears (or blocks, dominoes, or any other countable objects).

Numbers from 1 to 10:

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Even and odd numbers

An even number can be divided into two equal parts, while an odd number cannot. Halving an odd number leaves a remainder of 1.

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Definition (Even and odd numbers):
Let n and k be integers. We say that n is even if there exists k such that n = 2 k , and n is odd if there exists k such that n = 2 k + 1 .

Odd numbers have a middle

Three doors have a middle one; four don't.[^1] However, if three doors form a triangle, it may not be clear which is the middle.[^2] We can at least say that if a set S has an odd number of elements that are arranged "in a line", then S has a middle element. It seems that such an ordering is called a linear order or total order.[^3]

Notes

[^1]: One can also think of an even number as having two things in the middle.

[^2]: It seems there is a concept called the geometric median. The geometric median of the three vertices of a triangle is called the Fermat point.

[^3]: Examples of totally ordered sets: tuples ordered by index, the set of natural numbers ( N , ) , and the set of real numbers ( R , ) .