Across literature, the word "numbers" is employed in diverse and multifaceted ways. In some texts, it literally quantifies items or people, whether in the context of whole numbers in military strategy—as Dudeney wryly notes that “fractional soldiers are not of much use in war” [1]—or large groups influencing historical outcomes, as in Polybius’s recounting of battle strategies [2] and Gibbon’s observations on the role of troop size [3], [4]. In other works, numbers assume a more abstract or symbolic role; Locke’s treatise posits that precise demonstrations rely fundamentally on numbers [5], while the Pythagoreans famously fashioned a worldview from numbers, imbuing them with mystic significance [6], [7]. Numbers also serve practical functions, evident in chapter or page references in biblical texts [8], [9] and in narratives where identification relies on numeric designations, as seen in Dumas's account of prisoners known only by their numbers [10]. Thus, whether quantifying physical entities, underpinning philosophical arguments, or structuring literary artifacts, "numbers" play an intriguing dual role as both concrete measures and vehicles for abstract meaning.