During everyday life, most of us recognize numbers as values that pass our eyes. There are a few scenarios where a set of numbers becomes really important. Here is a short fictional story that highlights this idea.
My friends and I were fortunate to live a comfy lifestyle. Going to primary school and secondary school seemed like the most boring part of our educational experience. However, once we went to college, things got more exciting because we actually had the chance to choose our path in life! One of my friends focused on applied mathematics; another focused on archaeology, and my closest friend chose modern history. I happened to choose...ehem...bakery science.
Anyways, one of my friends in mathematics told me about an independent research study that he was doing with some of his other colleagues. Based on a history thesis paper that another of my friends wrote about the location of hidden technological marvels of the previous century. In the thesis, there was a particular computing device that was capable of communicating with people from different time periods. There was only a single book that was published on a person's account with the device.
My mathematics friend decided to delve deeper into the whereabouts of this device and after a year of research (and many Dorito bags later), he and his team found the precise latitude and longitude of the place. That, of course, was not possible if my archaeology-major friend hadn't given them special key-card access to the part of the library which held historic maps and guides of various explorers throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.
So, after all was said and done, my friends began packing their bags to go on a trip to the supposed location where this 'technology' was buried. I asked them what it looked like and they said it look essentially like a boxy computer from the 1980s or 1990s. They also hoped to find someone on eBay who was willing to sell a power adapter for this type of computer. Before they left, I asked them one single favor.
"When you establish communication with someone from the past or future. Can you ask them one thing?", I asked.
"Sure!", they replied.
"Can you ask whomever you communicate with in the future to send the next set of lottery numbers?"
