> Is multiplication anything but shorthand for counting the number of blocks in an M by N rectangle? His point is that the notion of primality doesn't have any

> Is multiplication anything but shorthand for counting the number of blocks in an M by N rectangle? His point is that the notion of primality doesn't have anything to do with the properties of real blocks. Primality tables are not constructed in the laboratory by teams of scientists with giant collections of blocks. Real world objects may have motivated the idea of multiplication and primality, but the idea ultimately does not depend upon any particular real world objects.