Speaking Numbers

I've taken to learning a software program for the Fish Factory. It's called Excel and deals with something called spreadsheets. Lots of numbers, which can be organized in a plethora of ways, then they can be shuffled to tell things they wouldn't normal tell. In reality it is amazing what Excel is capable of doing. For in the right hands it can do highly complex statistical tests, I used to know a lot about statistics so take it as true, although I've forgotten a lot as well. Too much. But the process of learning something you haven't used before is stimulating. What does amaze me as well is how I now read of beginners and intermediate lessons in using Excel and these lessons seem exceptionally basic. Like trying to teach children the alphabet. Perhaps it's because I've spent too much time reading about Excel and trying to put it to some use. Or maybe it's because people who use Excel don't have to really use it, they just input and don't think about much else.

Like playing Chess. Someone who doesn't know how to play the game, or only ever learnt the basics and never got interested would just appreciate the beauty of the pieces. While another person who knew how the game was played if they looked at a board of pieces would begin calculating what the next move is and see how a route might be taken to get checkmated. With even a little light popping up in their head when the problem was solved. At this point the pieces would be singing and telling a beautiful story. This is very much the same with Excel and the way data can be sorted or made into something other than just the blandness of being data. At this point the numbers beginning to talk and their meaning is revealed.

This is not to say, I've heard any numbers talking. It would be silly to suggest they do. But I did hear the number six was scared. Apparently seven ate nine.