ARE VALUES ONLY VALUES?

Muhammad Ohiul Islam

How would you solve a simple mathematical problem like 4+4=? The answer is eight! I knew that you
would know its eight. Let us look at it this simple problem of addition in a whole new way. Is anyone
sure that four plus four is always eight? One will suggest counting the number of things if anyone doubts
the absolution of this WAY OF ADDITION. One might also argue that the simple addition problem
depends on how we define the PATTERN OF ADDITION. To illustrate, there can be at least one more
pattern of addition of numbers or counting the totality of things. That is what I was talking about. We
always get eight by adding four with four because every time we add the two numbers we add in the
SAME PATTERN.

Now let us think of what other patterns of addition exist. The ADDITION PATTERN is contingent upon the
very DEFINITION of the number of things, more precisely, the different quantities of the same thing
adding.

To illustrate this idea let us take an example of Mangoes. From a basket pick 4 mangoes randomly. Pick
4 mangoes three more times and put every quad of mangoes that has been picked up in separate
baskets tagged with numbers from 1 to 4. Now we have four baskets each containing four mangoes.
Now let us solve the problem we were talking about. Firstly, we shall DEFINE things that we add; for
mangoes we have to methods, namely, quantitative and qualitative method.

A mango with its skin, seed, pulp, taste and scent DEFINES the quality of a substance being mango. If we
add weight as another criterion that is of numerical value, it appears to be a NEW PATTERN OF
DEFINING. The criterion of weight comes handy only when we measure quantity of mango. The
qualitative characteristics defines only what is a mango not its amount but implicitly its number (the
quality to be counted).

QUANTITATIVE METHOD gives us the continuous number of mango’s quantity.

QUALITATIVE METHOD gives us to count mango or simply, gives the DISCRETE NUMBER OF MANGO’s
QUANTITY.

Lets see how these two method work measuring the mango we picked up before. Remember the
baskets with number 4 with tagged numbers? Okay, basket one weighs 400gm, basket two weighs 500
gm, basket three and four both weigh 400gm each.
We put all mangoes of baskets one and two in a new basket tagged number five. Now the EIGHT
mangoes weigh 900gm. We put all mangoes of basket three and four in another new basket tagged
number six. This basket weighs 800gm. It is assumed that all baskets are weightless or 0gm.

Now it is apparent to us that basket five weighs more than basket six. In DISCRETE measurement or
QUALITATIVE METHOD of measurement gives us that basket five and six are same because they have
same number of mangoes.

In CONTINUOUS measurement or QUANTITATIVE METHOD, the eight mangoes of basket five are not
same as those eight from basket six. The two methods or DEFINITIONS show that the estimation of the
‘quality’ of baskets can vary with change of the DEFINITION or METHOD. ‘Eight mangoes’ in one way is
not same as ‘Eight mangoes’ in another. 8 ≠ 8, or 4 + 4 ≠ 4 +4 if two sides are measured in two WAYS,
METHODS, of two different DEFINITIONS. This result is ambiguous. This ambiguity lies in the base of
defining the things measuring.

In the world it is most commonly accepted to use one type of DEFINITION PATTERN or METHOD. But it is
also true that there can be other patterns of thinking, defining the measurement of particular
substances that yield other results. We know about distance between sun and earth, velocity of a cycle,
Amount of time but we pick up some METHOD, choose some DEFINITION for the sake of such
measurements. If we try to find out other METHODS or DEFINITIONS for measurement and adopt them,
what other values we will find from them, I wonder.

What we may not know a THING (or its quantity) for absolution if that THING has no pattern for
DEFINITION or INFINITE PATTERNS OF DEFINITION. The PATTERNS can be infinite for a particular THING
if there are infinite numbers of variables/ criteria/ characteristics each raising number of PATTERNS.

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