# If you were a number, what kind of number would you be? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 4, 2002, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-a-number-what-kind-of-number-would-you-be/140357 "2002-12-04T04:04:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Legomancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/779978/32.png) [@Legomancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Legomancer)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2002, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-a-number-what-kind-of-number-would-you-be/140357/61 "2002-12-06T16:45:42Z")
I want to be X, the unknown. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2002, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-a-number-what-kind-of-number-would-you-be/140357/62 "2002-12-06T16:48:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fibonacci \* > > > [@](#): > > > > Originally posted by MaxTheVool > > I’m not sure what number I would be. But I would be expressed in base fibonacci. > > \*\*All your base are belong to us. \*\* Holy crap that’s funny! ---
**Author:** ![Woeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/df705f/32.png) [@Woeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Woeg)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2002, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-a-number-what-kind-of-number-would-you-be/140357/63 "2002-12-06T17:09:20Z")
667 The Neighbor of the Beast ---
**Author:** ![kitarak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kitarak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitarak)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2002, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-a-number-what-kind-of-number-would-you-be/140357/64 "2002-12-06T17:42:36Z")
I’d be a cardinal number. An inaccesible one, just to be difficult. (ZFC simply isn’t good enough for me). Anyone who gets that knows too much set theory. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2002, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-a-number-what-kind-of-number-would-you-be/140357/65 "2002-12-06T18:33:09Z")
Would that be weakly or strongly inaccessible? ---
**Author:** ![23skidoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/f04885/32.png) [@23skidoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/23skidoo)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2002, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-a-number-what-kind-of-number-would-you-be/140357/66 "2002-12-06T22:36:58Z")
1337 ---
**Author:** ![kitarak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kitarak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitarak)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2002, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-a-number-what-kind-of-number-would-you-be/140357/67 "2002-12-07T01:12:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ultrafilter \* > \*\*Would that be weakly or strongly inaccessible? \*\* Somehow I knew you were going to call me on that one. 🙂 I actually can’t remember the difference. I don’t really know that much about inaccessible cardinals - I’m still a relative novice to the world of set theory; I have a fairly good understanding of ZFC, but not all that much past it. I just do a fair bit of reading around so I pick up random pieces of information (like inaccesible cardinals) and just felt like being obscure. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2002, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-a-number-what-kind-of-number-would-you-be/140357/68 "2002-12-07T02:45:39Z")
You can’t beat my first post in this thread for obscurity. 😃 To be honest, I don’t know much about extensions to ZFC myself. I’ve just heard the words and decided to throw them back at you. ---
**Author:** ![Lorenzo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4da419/32.png) [@Lorenzo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lorenzo)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2002, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-a-number-what-kind-of-number-would-you-be/140357/69 "2002-12-07T04:01:36Z")
Odd, non-integer, imaginary, irrational, prime, negative: some impossible combination ---
**Author:** ![kitarak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kitarak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitarak)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2002, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-a-number-what-kind-of-number-would-you-be/140357/70 "2002-12-07T12:40:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ultrafilter \* > \*\*You can’t beat my first post in this thread for obscurity. 😃 \*\* Actually… I think transcendentality is a decidable predicate. I have no real evidence to back this up, but it seems likely as the theory of roots of real valued polynomials is model theoretically ‘nice’. So, while I can’t beat it for obscurity, I can be almost as obscure and be right on top of that. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2002, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-a-number-what-kind-of-number-would-you-be/140357/71 "2002-12-07T15:45:17Z")
[overduemedia.com](http://overduemedia.com/archive.aspx?strip=20020307) Librarian: Hello Woman: I heard something about a dating service? L: It’s an experiment. Fill out this form. W: ‘If you were a dewey decimal number, which would you be?’ L: It’s a sort of pre-screening. W: That’s the STUPIDIST question I’ve ever heard! L: …and you passed! [screws up form and throws away]. PS. I’d be -i, the _other_ square root of -1. ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2002, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-a-number-what-kind-of-number-would-you-be/140357/72 "2002-12-07T15:58:07Z")
**Kitarak** , > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by kitarak \* > \*\*Somehow I knew you were going to call me on that one. 🙂 \*\* Bluff, my friend, bluff. IIRC ‘inaccessible’ is generally the same as ‘strongly inaccessible.’ Neither sort can be proved to exist in ZFC. But don’t quote me on that. BTW I see cambridge in your location - does the set theory indicate that’s the original, rather than one of those Americna knock-offs? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2002, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-a-number-what-kind-of-number-would-you-be/140357/73 "2002-12-07T16:46:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by kitarak \* > **Actually… I think transcendentality is a decidable predicate. I have no real evidence to back this up, but it seems likely as the theory of roots of real valued polynomials is model theoretically ‘nice’.** Maybe. But I had one before that, talking about [symbol]w[/symbol]. Anyway, I’m trying too hard to prove that I’m a geek, so I’m gonna stop now. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2002, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-a-number-what-kind-of-number-would-you-be/140357/74 "2002-12-07T17:04:24Z")
\ IIRC, in _Arrival_, the prisoner says “I am not a number, I am a person.” He does later say “I am not a number, I am free man!”, at least in the intro. \ Brian ---
**Author:** ![Number](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/number/32/242_2.png) [@Number](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Number)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2002, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-a-number-what-kind-of-number-would-you-be/140357/75 "2002-12-07T18:12:21Z")
I don’t understand the question. ---
**Author:** ![kitarak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kitarak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitarak)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2002, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-a-number-what-kind-of-number-would-you-be/140357/76 "2002-12-07T18:18:18Z")
Shade: No, it doesn’t. I am in fact at the original British one, but the set theory is from my own reading - My course doesn’t cover it until next year (Which I’m most upset by). I’m not even sure how well we cover it then. Ultrafilter: Chatain’s constant was the subject of an article in New Scientist, so it doesn’t get to count as that obscure. So there - I’m geekier than you! Nyah! 😛 Umm… Wait. Err. Hey, look over there! ::hides:: ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2002, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-a-number-what-kind-of-number-would-you-be/140357/77 "2002-12-07T18:35:02Z")
**Kitarak** : Snap; I’m a third year mathmo at Trinity. And you? I am doing logic, computaion and set theory this term, but unfortunately I’ve had a continual work/sdmb crisis for the last few weeks, so I won’t know how much ordinal/cardinal stuff it covers 'till I read up on the notes… ---
**Author:** ![DAVEW0071](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e19b73/32.png) [@DAVEW0071](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DAVEW0071)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2002, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-a-number-what-kind-of-number-would-you-be/140357/78 "2002-12-07T18:46:45Z")
Prime, baby. Nothing but prime. Actually, I honestly see myself as a 7, so that works. ---
**Author:** ![Iamthat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Iamthat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iamthat)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2002, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-a-number-what-kind-of-number-would-you-be/140357/79 "2002-12-07T19:04:47Z")
infinite ---
**Author:** ![DarrenS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/977dab/32.png) [@DarrenS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DarrenS)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2002, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-a-number-what-kind-of-number-would-you-be/140357/80 "2002-12-07T19:28:46Z")
[Graham’s number](http://www.sysopmind.com/singularity.html), of course. (Though I may be 6.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-a-number-what-kind-of-number-would-you-be/140357.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-a-number-what-kind-of-number-would-you-be/140357.md?page=5)