2+2: Find the Value

Astral Facts, September 2014

2+2: Find the Value

Astral: (Theosophy) Consisting of, belonging to, or designating, a kind of supersensible substance alleged to be next above the tangible world in refinement; as, astral spirits; astral bodies of persons; astral current.

In mathematics and other important “STEM” fields, (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics), the general procedure is to solve problems or answer questions by finding the “value” of the variable in an equation, where this variable is expressed by a symbol (often the letter "x") representing a sort of quantity.  We even use these basic equations to express concepts beyond their “quantity” aspects.  Thus, if we Google “e=mc2,” about 718,000 “hits” show up in less than 30 seconds.  Likewise, “2+2” brings up over 25 billion “hits” in only 20 seconds! 

It seems that such expressions of “value” extend far beyond the simple quantity nature of the various symbols in equations.  For example, in the Humanities Sciences, we use such expressions as "that's as clear as two plus two” and “it’s as easy as 2+2” along with many other variations of phrasings to express aspects of value expressed as "quality."  Often we can see this used as a background detail in visual texts as well.  If schoolroom scenes in art or film have a math problem in the background, it is usually the 2+2 example.

Thus, the deeper question might be focused on the quality aspect if we ask “What is the value of 2+2?”  George Orwell alluded to this equation in his 1949 novel 1984, about a hundred years after Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s main character in Notes from Underground (1864) mused upon it.  Both used the equation 2+2=5 as a basic expression to comment on the political and social climate of their time.  Today, we can also see the question of the “value” of 2+2 still being used as demonstrated in this short  six-minute film from the 2013 Oldenburg Film Festival:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTjM6S-kOmg

 In our current technology driven culture, we tend to emphasize the numbers to identify the quality of life – whether it be the dollar figure of our income or the number identifying the phone model that equals the “I” of our identities.  As many of us evaluate our own lives, we tend to stress the “bottom line” number, but we forget to consider where the actual “bottom line” might be.  Those numbers represent a quantity value, but the Humanities Scientists prefer to consider quality as well when assessing “value.” As they say, “it’s not how many years in your life that is important; it is how much life is in your years.” 

How then do we identify the value of our lives?  It should be as obvious as 2+2!

Walter Lowe
Astral Facts is a somewhat regular presentation of Humanities Science, produced in the bowels of the Humanities Science offices during the academic year.