When Is a Number, Not a Number? What numbers are not numbers? In some cases, as discussed below, information is represented with digits but does not represent a numeric value to be used in arithmetic operations. Basically, there are three types of numbers in general use: symbols, ordinals, and cardinals. Symbols Many of the numbers we use every day are not numbers at all. They are identifiers of some sort, not representing quantities or ranks. Here are the most common examples: · Phone Numbers : These are now almost entirely digital. Years ago, shorter numbers included an alphabetic prefix. For example, an old phone number might have been “LI5-7624”, where "LI" stood for "Lincoln." Now, area codes and country codes are required for calls between cities and countries, respectively. · Identification Numbers : These include Social Security numbers, student numbers, serial numbers, part numbers, etc. They are digital identifiers for which no
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