Australian Numerals Revealed After 20 Year Wait

Arabic, like Roman numerals no longer add up!

You are familiar with Roman Numerals such as I V X L C D and M. Thankfully in the year 825AD they were replaced by Hindu-Arabic Numerals (1 to 9 and zero) in a book by Al-Khwarizmi called 'On the Calculation with Hindu Numerals'.

Now Australian Numerals can be added to the rich and diverse history of numbers.

The function of mathematical symbols is to abbreviate with no loss of exactness. The symbols that describe the meaning of mathematics, whether for simple digits, arithmetic or calculus work pretty well. However, it is my view that the deficiency of Arabic Numerals is they inherently deal only with natural, or positive numbers rather than integers, that can be positive or negative. An Arabic numeral becomes negative only when a minus symbol is placed in front of it, while an Australian Numeral may be negative without the need for an extra symbol.

Therefore after more than 20 years of thinking about and experimenting with numbers, I've created Australian Numerals to deal with this deficiency. The main advantage of Australian Numerals for arithmetic is they are simply easier to use than Arabic Numerals alone.

If a child can add and subtract and know their times table to 5 x 5, they can do almost any basic arithmetic.It is expected that various mathematical formulae will be able to be simplified further as a consequence of the application of Australian Numerals.

Jonathan Crabtree Bio

As a child Jonathan failed mathematics. His turning point came when he shattered his spine in a motor accident. At this time he tuurned to meditation and visualisation to control his pain and improve his health.A few years later, without any formal mathematics training or education qualification, Jonathan quit his job to teach young children mathematics.

After making headlines for the innovative way he approached mathematics (children learned with their eyes closed) Jonathan went on the break a Guiness World Record for mindpower. His achievement was to recall six decks of shuffled cards a day after sighting them.

In 2004 Jonathan declared the 1st of May World Message Day to declare war on starvation. While receiving personal messages of support from numerous world leaders, there was little action as a consequence. So Jonathan decided to create and promote Australian Numerals to highlight the simple fact that if just 12 extras people a day are given clean water and quality calories, starvation can be ended in the year 2013 at a fraction of the cost of wars or Wall St bail-outs.

ENDNOTE: Australian Numerals is released under a Creative Commons License so please share what you discover at Australian Numerals

Australian Numerals Creator Admits Failure

Mathematics only basic

No PhD in Mathematics

This morning a 15 year old asked if I had a PhD in mathematics. The answer is no. In fact I once failed math. Read my reply in full below...


Hi XXXXXX

I have no formal training in mathematics. I even failed mathematics in year 11 (form 5) at school.

I believe I'm a geek (fanatic about one subject) not a nerd (clever).

I focus on basic mathematics and numbers only. However I believe the numbering system I'm writing up at the moment may make algebra easier...

My main goal is to make early level maths more fun and easier to do...

I've just been super stubborn about wanting to do basic mathematics in a simpler way! Some will see Australian Numerals as a massive breakthrough. Others will say "That's so simple anyone could have thought of that!" The bizarre thing is that my discovery/creation Australian Numerals is SO DAMN SIMPLE it's bizarre that it hasn't been done before!

So stay tuned and I'll look forward to you being one of the first in the world to find out!

Jonathan