Why math love 'letter' than 'numbers'

Okey, I'm sure, you often see minds readers. We will show how algebra provides an easy to use letters when compared with using numbers directly. Let us remember the words of forecaster who want to read our minds.

1. Think of a number between 1 and 10
2. Add to 3
3. Multiply the two, numbers that you get
4. Add the number you're thinking to the result before
5. Devide the last by 3
6. Take the last number that you get with what number you're thinking
7. The last number you get is 2

The question that we often think about is how the mind readers to find out our final answer without knowing the first number we think, is not it?

I know what happens at each step as if I chose to use letters rather than a specific number. For example I use x and you use the 7 in the first step. The following process, namely the steps above, would explain why x becomes important.

You Me
7 x

10 x + 3 (unknown number plus 3)

20 2(x + 3) = 2x + 6 ('multiply two')

27 (2x + 6) + x = 3x + 6 ('add to the number of unknown')

9 (3x + 6) / 3 = x + 2 ('divide by 3')

2 2 ('take an unknown number of the last number')


Of the two processes we have the same rid first value that we think so as to obtain results that course. By using letters, its more easily to manage the process as a mind reader, also understand why we get the same results, ie because the numbers that we do not know (forecasters), or number of the selected assistant forecasters ('example above 7') we discard the process in a way that carefully so assistant forecasters do not sense it.