Man has been called the symbol-making animal, and his talent for naming things frequently outstrips his capacity to understand them. Everyone knows the name of infinity, eternity; few people, if any, know what they are … Knowing the name—spoken or written—of a number is a prerequisite to using that number as well as understanding it. Among certain primitive peoples, there are only four number-names: one, two, three, and many.
- Hendrik Hertzberg, One Million.