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5 is a mystery (123 history)
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by
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dustin
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DUSTIN                            2023-08-03 01:09
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SO FAR, WE'VE SEEN THAT THE DIGITS 1-4 DEVELOPPED FROM COLLECTIONS OF AS MANY STROKES:  
"1" COMES FROM A SINGLE VERTICAL STROKE  
"2" AND "3" WERE ONCE JUST TWO/THREE HORIZONTAL, PARALLEL STROKES  
AND "4" WAS A CROSS (+), MAYBE SYMBOLIZING 4 DIRECTIONS.  
  
NOW IF WE TAKE ON THIS IDEA, WE FIND THAT "5" CAN ALSO EASILY BE INTERPRETED AS A COLLECTION OF FIVE STROKES (JUST THINK HOW 5 IS WRITTEN ON DIGITAL DISPLAYS!). HOWEVER, AS THE CAVE MAP ALREADY SHOWS, THE HISTORIC SHAPE OF "5" WAS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT...  
  
1ST AND 2ND SHAPE:  
THIS IS HOW ANCIENT PEOPLE IN INDIA WROTE THE NUMBER 5. IT LOOKS TO ME LIKE A KIND OF WATER FAUCET HANGING FROM A WALL. THE LEFT SHAPE IS TRYING TO MAKE PLAUSIBLE HOW THIS SYMBOL MIGHT INDEED HAVE BEEN INSPIRED BY ARRANGING FIVE STROKES IN AN APPEALING WAY.  
  
3RD SHAPE:  
BY ROTATING THE WATER FAUCET BY 180 DEGREES, YOU GET THIS SHAPE WHICH LOOKS MUCH LIKE OUR "4" BUT IT WAS ACTUALLY USED AS SYMBOL FOR "FIVE" FORMERLY!   
  
4TH SHAPE:  
AND NOW COMES A REAL MYSTERY: WHEN THE NUMBERS HAD MADE THEIR WAY FROM INDIA OVER THE ARABS TO EUROPE, SUDDENLY OUR FAMILIAR "5" SYMBOL STARTED TO APPEAR OUT OF THE BLUE, WITHOUT ANY HINTS WHERE THE EUROPEANS HAD THIS SHAPE FROM! :D  
  
FROM MY (SIMPLE-MINDED) POINT OF VIEW, IT SEEMS PLAUSIBLE THAT THE EUROPEANS JUST FOUND THAT THE SYMBOLS FOR "FOUR" AND "FIVE" HAD INDEED BECOME WAY TOO SIMILAR, SO THEY JUST INVENTED A COMPLETELY NEW "FIVE" SHAPE ON THEIR OWN. SO LET'S START FROM THE VERY BEGINNING AGAIN: WE HAVE FIVE STROKES, HOW TO ARRANGE THEM IN AN APPEALING AND EASY-TO-WRITE WAY?  
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YEAH THAT LOOKS COOL, LET'S TAKE THIS SHAPE FROM NOW ON! WAIT, YOU SAY IT LOOKS TOO SIMILAR TO THE LETTER "S" NOW? AAH, LET'S JUST MAKE IT A BIT MORE ANGULAR AT THE TOP, THAN IT WORKS WELL ENOUGH...! :D  
  
I'M ABSOLUTELY CONVINCED THAT THIS IS EXACTLY HOW IT WENT... ;)

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ROB GILBERT                       2023-08-03 05:36
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REALLY COOL! :) DIDN'T KNOW 5 ONCE LOOKED ALMOST LIKE A 4, HEHE. AND CURIOUSLY ENOUGH, THE ORIENTAL 5 (CHINESE/JAPANESE), DESPITE USING A MORE COMPLEX CHARACTER, CAN ALSO BE THOUGHT OF AS CONTAINING 5 UNIQUELY PLACED AND ORIENTED STROKES (THOUGH IIRC THE ANGLED STROKE IS ACTUALLY ONE STROKE TECHNICALLY, NOT TWO)

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DUSTIN                            2023-08-03 20:09
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rob gilbert: INDEED :D HOWEVER, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT FOR THE JAPANESE "4", THE COLLECTION-OF-STROKES IDEA DOESN'T REALLY SEEM TO WORK. THE HISTORY OF CHINESE/JAPANESE NUMERALS WOULD SURELY BE AN INTERESTING TOPIC ON ITS OWN. :D

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DUSTIN                            2023-08-03 20:12
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AH, I FORGOT TO MENTION THE BD1 CAVES WITH RANDOM SEED 5 :D BUT THERE'S ONLY ONE CAVE: H/4.

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ROB GILBERT                       2023-08-03 20:25
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YEAH, INDEED, I'M SURE IT'S JUST A COINCIDENCE IN THIS CASE (REGARDING 5 IN THE ORIENTAL LANGUAGES :D ) STILL AN AMUSING TOPIC TO EXPLORE!