A brief history of banned numbers - Alessandra King

They say the pen is mightier than the sword, and authorities have often agreed. From outlawed religious tracts and revolutionary manifestos to censored and burned books, we know the potential power of words to overturn the social order. But as strange as it may seem, some numbers have also been considered dangerous enough to ban. Alessandra King details the history behind illegal numbers.

Lesson by Alessandra King, directed by Juan M. Urbina Studios.

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[rhymesandvibes]

As if zero was considered controvertial. People literally got upset about nothing

[FuchsiaMuffin]

“Negative numbers were considered absurd”

Yeah I find it absurd when I have -$1.00 and my bank want to charge $30 for each day I’m negative until I’m around -$100 in.

[FistDaMonkey]

To all the Indians complaining that India's contribution to math is not mentioned. You guys need to understand that the title of the video is "History of BANNED numbers".

Yes, India invented many things from zero to the positional notation system and gave rise to many great mathematicians like Aryabhatta.

Do you know why?
It's precisely because India did not ban numbers. Its because India was the place where mathematicians could challenge themselves with complete freedom.

The fact that India is not mentioned in a video about BANNED numbers only goes to show how great of a place India was that mathematicians could practice without restriction and give rise to many modern mathematical inventions.

[supercanadian]

Only rationals? That's so irrational!

[aayronn]

The number 7 was put in the death chair for the first degree murder of the number 9 and committing the horrible act of cannibalism.
Always remember the fallen smh

[megschneider]

If you cut a hole in a net there would be less holes...

[riteshram]

"They say the pen is mightier than the sword"
*Shows pencil*

[justinmagno]

My plagiarized contribution:

Why was 6 afraid of 7?
Because 7 ate 9. Haha!
But, why did 7 eat 9?


Because 7 needs 3 squared meals a day.

[killercloud]

3:41 Why is that 1 in the upper right so thin

[ContinualImprovement]

Finally, I'm going to learn how to count.

[abhishekhawaldar]

4:11
Huge respect to the girl for doing such intense mathematical calculations using HTML.

[drfreeman]

Number 3 is officially banned by Valve.

[TheRealHankSchrader.]

irrational numbers: *exist*

Pythagoreans :wait that's illegal

[trevorjensen]

In some places, apparently the number 13 is skipped. Logically thinking, it's not like skipping over the number equates to a sudden cease of existence. If it does, whatever fears one has of 13 is simply in his/her head.

[jasonvoorheesvnce]

"Whoever said the pen is mightier than the sword obviously never encountered automatic weapons"

-Douglas MacArthur

[PTM]

I like the attention to detail. They're called Hindu-Arabic and not just Arabic numbers. Indicating their Hindu origin in the land of India.

[wanderingpoet]

Evolution of numbers: Natural numbers (counting) - Integers (adds 0 and negative numbers) - Rational numbers - Real numbers (adds irrational numbers such as pi and root2) - Complex numbers (adds imaginary numbers, like i, eleventeen and thirty-twelve).

[mmaakk]

Numbers don't kill people. People kill people.

[kattyrhein]

"The pen is mightier than the sword."
Percy: laughs in Riptide

[ciocio-san]

"Well, guess what; mine's both!"
-Percy Jackson