The number 4 and why I hate it

So many of you are probably wondering why am I talking about this.  Believe it or not, I have had several people request this post after my post on random facts about me on my blog.  Well, ok maybe just Darren and Mike, but I am doing it anyways.  And besides it is my turn for an “Andy Rooney moment” anyways.

First of all, the symbol of the number four does not in my opinion match the overall scheme of numeral system we use.  And it seems to be the ugliest symbol in our system as well.

It also seems to stand out for some reason, like look at me I’m different.  But it is not any better than the rest.

Also, there are too many ways to draw a number 4.  For instance you can have the top with a triangle or as an open box.  It can also be drawn with a tail on the right side and in the middle.  

It seems to look top-heavy.  Structurally it just can’t sit up right in any way, either on its side (because of the tail) or standing up.  

It takes to many strokes/sides to complete a 4.  Yes I know that 5 has many twists but at least you don’t have to raise your pen to write it.  This is one of the major issues I have with 4.

It is ridiculously asymmetrical.  There are many numbers which are assymetrical, but 4 is to me the most unappealing asymmetrical design of all of the numbers.  

So far most of these reasons have been with the design of 4, but rightly so, since this is the major reason I do not like it.  I have hated the number 4 since I was a kid mainly because I never liked to write it.  

Anyways… on to the concept issues

Let me just say one thing before I begin on to the “concept” section.  I have no problem with the idea of 4 existing.  In arabic and roman numeral systems and all numeral systems, 4 has to exist somewhere.  And I have no problem with that.  I don’t have a problem that there are 4 wheels on my car or sitting in a group of 4 people.  The concept is useful since it is an even number and as Mike says, “The world is set up for groups of 4 people.”  I am okay with this and am not frustrated because of that.

Four is a homonym for “for” and “fore”.  Now you are saying, “Well ‘2’ is a homonym for ‘to’ and ‘too’.”  Yes I realize that but that is the only issue I have with the number 2 and I have always liked the number  2 because it is also a pair.  There also other reasons I like 2, one is because it always seems safer to 2 than just 1 and it is so small that it seems efficient anyways.  

It is too close to the number 5 that it always seems incomplete.  In tally marks and roman numeral systems it is always easier to have 5 being complete.  Also, 5 is half of ten which makes it very easy to count.  And 4 is dreadfully close to being very efficient as a 5 but not quite there.  Having $4 is annoying because you could just have a $5 for one more single.  The number 9 is close to 10, but I don’t have an issue with this because it is the last single digit number.  Therefore it can’t be compared to 10.  When counting $9, the $4 is really the pain, and I am biased towards hating $4 anyways because of the other issues I have with it.

Anyways, that is about it.  Oh and Mike about your question if I hated any of the letters of the alphabet; I have always thought “C” was a waste.  Since you can make the same sound either with an “S” or a “K”.  But I do agree that “N” is annoying to draw, and “B”.  

So there you go.  There are my issues with “4”. This is a peek into the very complex and puzzling nature of my mind.