Draft:Outline of numbers

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to numbers:

A number is a mathematical object used to count, measure, and label. The most basic examples are the natural numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and so forth. Numbers can be represented in language with number words. More universally, individual numbers can be represented by symbols, called numerals; for example, "5" is a numeral that represents the number five. As only a relatively small number of symbols can be memorized, basic numerals are commonly organized in a numeral system, which is an organized way to represent any number. The most common numeral system is the Hindu–Arabic numeral system, which allows for the representation of any non-negative integer using a combination of ten fundamental numeric symbols, called digits. In addition to their use in counting and measuring, numerals are often used for labels (as with telephone numbers), for ordering (as with serial numbers), and for codes (as with ISBNs). In common usage, a numeral is not clearly distinguished from the number that it represents.

What type of things are numbers?

Numbers can be described as all of the following:

• Abstract concepts
  • Symbols
    • Fundamental elements of mathematics
      • Quantitative descriptors

Types of numbers

• Natural numbers
• Integers
• Irrational numbers
• Real numbers
• Prime numbers
• Complex numbers
  • Algebraic numbers
    • Rational numbers

Hypercomplex numbers

• Hypercomplex number
• Bicomplex number
• Biquaternion
• Bioctonion
• Dual numbers
• Dual complex numbers
• Dual quaternion
• Quaternions
• Octonions
• Sedenions
• Split-biquaternion
• Split-complex numbers
• Split-quaternion
• Split-octonion

Other types

• Transfinite numbers
• p-adic numbers

History of numbers

History of numbers