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As a taster ... What do you mean by "2"? What do you mean by "1"? What do you mean by "+"? What do you mean by "="? There's more than one way to get to the

As a taster ... What do you mean by "2"? What do you mean by "1"? What do you mean by "+"? What do you mean by "="? There's more than one way to get to the number 7. You can start at 0 and count upwards, or you can "add" the numbers "3" and "4". Why should it be that you end up in the same place? Slightly more complex/general ... Consider the number line, and divide the stretch between 0 and 1 into 9 equal pieces. Start from 0 and move along two of these pieces. Call the place you get to "T". Now consider the stretch from 0 to 2, and divide that into 9 equal sized pieces. Take just the first one, and call where that gets to "S". Why are they the same point?

zackattack 16y ago
>Now consider the stretch from 0 to 2, and divide that into 9 equal sized pieces. Take just the first one, and call where that gets to "S". Why are they the same point? This seems to me like it's simply rephrasing the question why does 1+1=2. Or, at least, I can't answer it without invoking the field axioms, or perhaps only the ring axioms. Please forgive me if my terminology is awkward.