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Odd and Even Numbers
Feb 11, 2008 | Lucas
I was in computer science class earlier today trying to follow along a proof our professor was explaining (having something to do with odd numbers and their squares) when my mind wandered off and I suddenly began to think: "who was the person that suddenly decided it would be a good idea to classify numbers into odds and evens?" We use (and refer to) odd and even numbers every day, yet we just assume this classification system as common practice.
In mathematics, an odd number is defined as n = 2k + 1, where k is an integer, and n is the odd number. Similarly, an even number is defined as m = 2k (where m is the even number and k is an integer). Essentially, if a number is divisible by two without a remainder then it is even. But why did we choose two instead of three or four or five?
I'm assuming that the answer probably lays in the fact that two is the smallest number that is larger than one, and dividing by one doesn't really make much sense. But you have to wonder whether there ever was a time when people didn't have this concept of odd and even... And what if some genius with authority chose to create the odd/even sets where an even number would be evenly divisible by three?