Why Do Numbers Sometimes Behave Like Living Things?

Imagine you have a magical bag that changes the number of candies inside it every time you shake it. Sometimes there are more, sometimes fewer, even some numbers just repeat the same amounts over and over again. This is what we call numbers behaving like living things. They grow or shrink in patterns, much like plants or animals. If you start with 2 candies, after a few shakes, you might end up with 4, then 8, and so on, that’s how some numbers multiply themselves. Other numbers decay, like when you start with 16 candies and shake the bag until it has just 1 candy left.