Insights

ROMAN NVMERALS

By March 14, 2013 November 1st, 2022 No Comments

A recent NPR article caught my attention and really made me think for a moment about the fact that these days, Roman numerals are primarily a decorative or promotional tool. The article’s author, Linton Weeks, gathered a list of “V Reasons to Love Roman Numerals,” which you can find here: http://tinyurl.com/bzyrmyn
 
Before I even made my way through the article I thought for a moment about where I see Roman numerals. In truth, I don’t see them all that often but I realized that I like them for some of the very same reasons as Linton Weeks. They are, in my mind, graphically elegant and have an air of sophistication and quiet strength about them. To summarize:
 
I.
They aren’t often used – Popes, the Super Bowl, dates in movie credits, the Olympics and tres fancy clocks and watches. Ironically, the newest Pope chose an original name with no Roman numeral.
 
II.
They add gravitas – and who couldn’t use some gravitas? Nelson James Harcourt III, as an example, just oozes Ivy League and old money
 
III.
They are cool – They often follow big league athletes, blockbuster movie series and video games.
 
IV.
They are timeless – enough said.
 
V.
They are an oddity and an odd number –  I, V, X, L, C, D and M and there is no zero!

Sandra Storey the I, Account Supervisor, The S3 Agency
 

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