I mean that if you subtract 1 from 2, the only thing you’ve done is a decrement, but once you reach 0, you’ve met a kind of mathematical boundary. It preserves numbers through addition, like how 1 preserves in math. It’s the only number that destroys information in multiplication. It’s more interesting than a simple location in a number line. Kind of a special digit, is all. We don’t get into that in basic math though.

And it’s slower, but id recommend “how many ‘i’s” if you want to be as correct as possible (use double quotes when it’s not already in a quote of course ((wow, grammar for discussing grammar gets weird)). But again, in domain-specific applications, I think these rules go out the window.

Edit: forgot your question. Those annoy me because it still feels like someone is just tossing it in for plurality