Even though they are a ”partial script,” only covering a limited range of information, they’re by far the most common language. You could call these “Arabic Numerals” the true language of mankind, as math governs so much of our lives…
It’s interesting to ponder. Those numerals, the 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 didn’t have to be so universal. Think about how diverse our spoken languages are, and the written equivalents…
Yet we all use these symbols to refer to numbers.
That seems important. I can communicate “One Hundred Apples” to you by showing you the number 100 and a picture of an apple. Without the number, it’s very hard to communicate the concept of specifically 100 apples. Even if I put an image up of 100 apples, you’d have to count them all. You would assume I mean “a lot of apples,” but not a specific amount. Whereas with 100 🍎 its clear as day.
Who knows why numerals are so universal across the world. It could be that they’re just so damned useful that they infected all of mankind much like the internet has done to us today.
It’s fun to think about. I have a new reverence for numerals, those simple squiggles that made modern civilization possible.
