Signals

Let’s use our hands, since each has five fingers.

For starters, let’s agree that when the palm of the left hand is facing down, the five fingers starting with the thumb will represent 1 through 5. When the palm of the left hand is facing up or sideways (or not facing down), the first four fingers starting with the thumb will represent 6 through 9. And we’ll let each finger on the right hand represent a span of ten numbers, starting with the thumb signifying from 10 through 19, the pointer 20 through 29, the middle finger 30 through 39, the ring finger 40 through 49, and the pinkie 50 through 59. To convey the count, simply touch the appropriate finger on the left hand using the appropriate finger on the right hand. The only exceptions are for running counts of +1 through +9, and counts of exactly 10,20,30,40, and 50. For running counts of +1 through +9, we’ll leave out the right hand altogether.

A subtle twitch or casual movement of the thumb with the left palm facing down would signify +1. A subtle movement of the index finger while facing down would indicate +2, and so on. Get the idea? With the palm of the left hand facing up or to the side, a subtle movement of the index finger would indicate a running count of +7. Now for +10, +20, +30, +40, and +50: For a runing count of +10, the right thumb touches the middle of the left palm. For a running count of +20, the right index finger touches the middle of the left palm. For a running count of +30, the middle finger of the right hand touches the palm of the left, and so on for running counts of exactly +40 and +50.