ABSTRACT
The idea of organizing chapters based on the number sets – that is, devoting chapters to natural numbers, followed by chapters on integers, rational, real and complex numbers –was attempted and rejected, as the same mathematical ideas kept appearing in multiple places. Then, for a while, the people considered and drafted different chapters on how numbers are used (counting, measuring), on what one can do with numbers (represent, add, multiply, compare, transform, factor, etc.) and on number properties (density, divisibility, commensurability, etc.). The number line is considered to be a deeply powerful image for numbers and useful in many contexts. The location on a number line also extends to a coordinate system, where pairs of numbers are used to identify a particular location. There are many references to particular numbers in folklore and religious mysticism, some of which lead to superstitions.
