Not Real Numbers

I rediscovered the xkcd up goer five text editor, which lets you type using only the 1000 most common english words. So here’s my attempt at writing a description of something:

Not Real Numbers

We know how to do many number problems. Number problems with adding are easy. Adding the same number over and over is also easy. If you take a number and add it many times, the same number of times as that number, you get a box number.

We can go forward from number to box number. Sometimes you want to go back from box number to smaller number. In fact, if you have a number problem with box numbers and adding over and over and adding, you learn in school a box problem answer form to do the problem. But part of the answer form says to go back from box numbers.

A box number is always above the nothing number, or is the nothing number. Five boxed is twenty five, and so is five under nothing boxed. Even numbers under nothing, if you box them by adding them that many times, are above the nothing number. But for some problems, the box problem answer form wants you to find a number where its box number is under nothing. Oh no!

So the number people made up a new number, to imagine its box number is one under nothing. Some people were mad and called these new numbers not real. They were surprised when these not real numbers were good for doing problems! We only need to make up one new number to do all number problems with adding and adding over and over! Also, we can draw not real numbers by imagining they go in a different direction than real numbers.