I learned this rule through, of all things, the children's series Animorphs. One book they encounter a colony of ants, who mention that "You are one, we are man

I learned this rule through, of all things, the children's series Animorphs. One book they encounter a colony of ants, who mention that "You are one, we are many" and count that way; any finite number is one, and infinite numbers are many.