I want to thank every body that contributed to this thread. Yes to an extent I now think I may understand. The thing that set me off in the first place were a set of BBC documentaries explaining number, which seemed to be propagating ideas which were at odds with the knowledge I had from my own field. The problem was these documentaries were using analogies and not explaining them as being analogies, and it was not clear what the analogy was about.
I tried working through the ideas in these documentaries with friends to no avail, but your answers have enlighten us.
But if anyone comes across a good source that explains the concepts in maths to a lay audience I for one would be up for reading it.
Once again thank you all.
I tried working through the ideas in these documentaries with friends to no avail, but your answers have enlighten us.
But if anyone comes across a good source that explains the concepts in maths to a lay audience I for one would be up for reading it.
Once again thank you all.