A number by any other (non-English or non-French) name would make more sense.
The symbols of mathematics, like the notes of music, are in themselves merely an artificial, intrinsically meaningless script. They will convey life, meaning, richness of thought and beauty only if the ideas and the thinking which the symbols merely record are taught with as little use of symbolism as possible.
—Morris Kline
Put the above quote into [...]
