I had been curious about the answer to this question for a very long time when I was a kid! but I forgot about it as I grew older.
But when I was in 11th std. I came across the concept of Complex numbers, which was completely against my understanding of numbers (or any other kid in 11th std. for that matter). It was because it had a number ‘i’ which was equal to the square root of ‘-1'. For me, it was blasphemy! No number if squared gives a negative result!!!
This concept was impossible for me to digest, I couldn’t think of any convincing reason why SUCH A THING WOULD BE DEVELOPED???
And the above question captured my imagination! Why were numbers developed in the first place?
I gave it a lot of thought and after 2 days of continuous thinking, I formed an idea that made perfect sense for me. It also helped me understand complex numbers!
Please read ahead and let me know how you feel!
An expedition to satisfy our intellects!
Before we proceed let's talk a little about the nature of mathematics itself. Its significance lies central to the fact that nothing satisfies the curious mind more than the understanding of the deepest level.
