Replying to LO23785 --
> My granddaughter Jessica has far less difficulties with "numbers"
> that her fellow classmates. They try to focus on the "number"
> and still fumble in even identifying them. With my insight on the
> vast difference between "entropy" and "entropy production", I
> taught her to focus on both "number production" and "number"
> in that sequence. She has even passed the stage of creating
> exquisite rhythms with series of numbers.
This is the second praline, which I pick from the rich collection, which
At de Lange offered in his recent contribution.
Theory became practice while playing Back Gammon yesterday evening with my
dear wife. It did not only shed light on the difference between
being-numbers and becoming-numbers, but also the deltas (differences) of
both types of numbers and how they help to play the game.
Back Gammon consists of a) 24 fields, which can be counted from 1 to 24,
b) 15 play stones for each player and 2 dices with values 1 to 6 each as
usual. Let me say, that being- and becoming-numbers are properties of the
play stones. Then the number of the fields are potential being-numbers,
while a play stone on e.g. field 6 "has" the actual being-number 6.
Likewise e.g. a 3 on the dice is a potential becoming-number. The decision
to move a specific play stone three fields forward actualises this
becoming-number.
The game progresses by first selecting two potential becoming-numbers
(dicing), second checking them against the actual being-number
configuration and third dicide how to actualise the diced potential
becoming-numbers. While each game starts with a defined being
configuration, every turn consists of a becoming-being.
Now about the differences: In Back Gammon it is dangerous to have single
play stones on a field, because it can be caught by the opposite player.
One tries to have as far as possible two or more stones on one field. If
two single stones happen to have the being-numbers 2 and 4, the delta or
difference or distance between them is 2: a delta of 2 of being-numbers.
Now you are lucky if you dice the same delta of the two becoming numbers,
when you dice for example 4 and 6. Such a matching or corresponding of
being and becoming deltas allow you to move the two playing stones on one
field, field 8 in this example.
So we have four different qualities of the number 2 (without
distinguishing potential and actual): being-2, becoming-2, /_\being-2 and
finally /_\becoming-2 (using the symbol /_\ for delta or difference or
distance).
I could have told you that Back Gammon never becomes boring for me. But I
couldn't tell why. Isn't it a quite simple game including a lot of luck?
Yesterday I realised that it includes at the central decision making the
change of changes - /_\becoming-numbers. Dancing Back Gammon has a calming
effect on the mind, time is spent in a satisfying manner. Sounds right to
me.
Liebe Gruesse,
Winfried
--"Winfried Dressler" <winfried.dressler@voith.de>
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>
"Learning-org" and the format of our message identifiers (LO1234, etc.) are trademarks of Richard Karash.