PARCELATORIES OF SECOND ORDER

don't exist in fact. What exists are counting processes, a human ability that consist in to quantify, measure, compare and enumerate objects. Any object!

Because they exist only in our imagination, numbers are only abstract objects we use to calculate our usual counts.

As any abstract object, it was necessary to create symbolic properties to represent them. But substantially, they don't exist! They are therefore, fundamental cognitive concepts.

However the counting is a more fundamental concept yet! So fundamental that we don't perceive it.

DEFINITIONS

Parcelatories, or Partitions, is a mathematical function of Combinatory Analysis which indicates how many possible forms an Whole Number can be obtained from the sum of others smaller Whole Numbers.

An example usually mentioned is the Parcelatories of the number 10.

The number 10 can be obtained from 42 different additions. The list below contains all possible counts:

ince the beginnings of humanity, the task of counting was always very important. The development of human society had always been based on counts. 

In the beginning, the simple Arithmetic was enough: counts of people, food, game, stones, days... 

There were many symbols to represent the counts. The Roman Numerical System was one of them, but it wasn't practical. The set of mathematical symbols that we use today was originated with the Hindus, was improved by Arabs, and it's a Decimal System just because we have 10 fingers! 

Recently (February/05/2009) the BBC released new numbers for the Drake Equation, demonstrating that there may be hundreds of extraterrestrial civilizations in our galaxy.

These numbers are very volatile and the evidences tend to increase with discoveries of new chemical combinations, new extra-solar planets and new forms of life that survive in the most inhospitable environments right here, in our planet.

Meanwhile, the people of the SITI Project continues promoting a great effort to read meticulously each signal obtained from radio telescopes in the hope of finding evidence of some other intelligent civilization.