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Bathtub thoughts sometimes turn to an attempt to improve the scientific numbering system, the International System of Units. The goal is to make it easy to do mathematical calculations automatically while saying the terms. This new numbering system is named Numplusho and it replaces the usual methods for identifying the exact value of all numbers.

Why replace the International System of Units with Numplusho

The problem with the current SI system is that it requires knowing over twenty identifying names for variously sized quantities. Our current system for putting names to numbers will someday seem as unnecessarily complicated as using spoken Roman numerals when trying to calculate cube roots.

The usual method is difficult to use because the obscure names used as a shorthand way of speaking about numbers create confusion because there is no logical relationship between the SI names and their sizes. It requires a lot of memory and mental gymnastics to keep track of the SI calculations when those names are used. Those SI names sound good in some situations but they confuse everyone when they are used for actual calculations of relative size comparisons of the numbers being discussed.

The thoughts during this evening’s bath were about how to make each number obvious to its size relative to every other number without requiring the use of the difficult SI system. It is desirable for the numbers to be easily stated and that the statement itself makes the relative size of the number clear and easy to remember, and easy to compare to all other numbers.

Numplusho defined

The new system uses a name that is easy to say and useful to remember because the name itself gives the procedure for using the whole system. The word is Numplusho (pronounced, num plus ho). It combines the three essential concepts into a single word and they are in the order that the concepts are used.

The first part of the word is num and it refers to the first numeral of an intended number. Any number will begin with 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 but not 0. In this Numplusho system, all numbers begin with a common figure called a numeral, with a decimal point implied just to the right side of it. For example, 3.14 would be written 314+0, meaning the decimal point would be immediately to the right of the first numeral 3(.) and it would mean the same as 3.14.

The second part of the word Numplusho is plus and it refers to the direction the decimal point is to be located, right or left. The spoken word plus means the number of spaces to the right of the first numeral where the decimal point will be placed, and when written the symbol + is used. When the decimal point is to be moved to the left the word minus is spoken and the symbol –  is written.

The third part of the word Numplusho, is ho ( a spoken contraction of zero). It refers to the size of the movement to the right or left. The number 314 would be written 314+2 meaning the decimal point would be moved two places to the right and it would be spoken as “three one four plus 2.” The number 0.00314 would be written 314-3 and spoken “three one four minus three.”

That is the basic Numplusho system, and when dealing with values between one and ten it adds a word of direction and value plusho, but for the infinity of other numbers, it removes their relative size names and and replaces them with a simple number. Thus, their relative size and their computability become much easier to cope with.

The SI terms that Numplusho eliminates

When using Numplusho we can ignore the following multitude of confusing terms:  yotta, zetta, exa, peta, tera, giga, mega, kilo, hecto, deka, deci, centi, milli, micro, nano, pico, femto, atto, zepto, and yocto. All of those weird terms are replaced with the intended simple number, plus or minus the exponent size.

Numplusho is so simple a child can do some common complex calculations by speaking them.