The requirement, in ordinal representations of number, that the ‘special’ symbol at the ordinal position of the value being represented must be distinct from all other symbols in a sequence clearly invites a meaning to be associated with the special symbol. With such, there was no longer the need for a purely oral explanation of the system, as all of its components were self-contained to the point of being readable many thousands of years later.

The Algebra Project was born.At its core, the project is a five-step philosophy of teaching that can be applied to any concept: Physical experience. Pictorial representation. People talk (explain it in your own words). Feature talk (put it into proper English). Symbolic representation.