To expand: they're "equivalence classes". The digit 1 represents a value, in the same equivalence class as 1/1, 2/2, 1.0, 1+0i, {0|}, 1.0+0i+0j+0k, etc. ad infi

To expand: they're "equivalence classes". The digit 1 represents a value, in the same equivalence class as 1/1, 2/2, 1.0, 1+0i, {0|}, 1.0+0i+0j+0k, etc. ad infinitum.