NUMBERS
it is very important to remember [1] as Jasper Johns so well
demonstrated with his numbers [2] that numbers can only refer to
themselves [3] numbers alone have no story [4] no story to
tell [5] only when they are added subtracted multiplied divided do
numbers tell a story [6] then they have a plot [7] they
mean something [8] they mean having more or less of whatever one
has [9] more or less of whatever the numbers now refer to
[8] but numbers standing alone refer only to themselves [7]
that is why the number 9 is so perfect [6] it cancels all the
other numbers when they are added subtracted multiplied divided one with
the other and the result is 9 [5] 0 is okay too [4] but
its particular visual quality makes certain people confuse it with the
letter O or with the symbol of a hole [3] this is not so with the
other numbers [2] their visual quality brings nothing to the mind
[1] concretely or abstractly [2] numbers standing alone
cannot become symbols [3] they cannot mean [4] they are
nothing [5] they mean nothing [6] they are nothing but
scratches on the paper [7] but numbers when added subtracted
multiplied divided become dangerous because they mark the difference
between those who have much & those who have little [8] between
wealth and poverty [9] between all or nothing [0]
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