For the Love of Numbers

Radiolab

• Episode: For the Love of Numbers
• Website: Radiolab
• Feed URL: http://feeds.wnyc.org/radiolab
• Duration: 00:19:37
• Published: 2014-05-02 21:15

It’s hard to think of anything more rational, more logical and impersonal than a number. But what if we’re all, universally, also deeply attuned to how numbers … feel? Why 2 is warm, 7 is strong and 11 is downright mystical.

In this short, writer Alex Bellos tells Robert how, from the very first time humans ever used numbers, we couldn’t help but give them human-like qualities. From favorite numbers to numbers that we’re suspicious of, from 501 jeans to Oxy 10, our feelings for these digits may all come down to some serious, subconscious inner-math….a deeply human arithmetic buried in our heart.