# WangNet – 1.8 MB, zero-dependency Numberwang adjudication in 11 languages

> Source: <https://github.com/GraafHenk/numberwang>
> Published: 2026-09-15 19:27:35+00:00

A small neural network that decides whether a number is Numberwang.

The whole model is a 1.8 MB JSON file and the inference code is about 100 lines of pure Python standard library — no PyTorch, no NumPy, nothing to install. Clone it and run it.

``` bash
$ python3 numberwang.py 22
22... THAT'S NUMBERWANG!  (confidence: 99.3%)

$ python3 numberwang.py "45 - 44"
45 - 44... That's Wangernumb! Rotate the board!  (confidence: 100.0%)

$ python3 numberwang.py "hello how are you"
hello how are you... That's not even a number. It can never be Numberwang.  (confidence: 100.0%)
git clone https://github.com/GraafHenk/numberwang
cd numberwang
python3 numberwang.py 22
```

Run it with no arguments for an interactive session:

``` bash
$ python3 numberwang.py
Welcome to Numberwang! (ctrl-c to stop playing Numberwang)
> zweiundzwanzig
zweiundzwanzig... THAT'S NUMBERWANG!  (confidence: 100.0%)
> shinty-six
shinty-six... That's not Numberwang.  (confidence: 100.0%)
```

Requires Python 3.8 or newer. That's the only requirement.

``` python
from numberwang import load_model, wang_probabilities

model = load_model("model.json")
probs = wang_probabilities(model, "forty-seven")
# [p_not_numberwang, p_numberwang, p_not_a_number, p_wangernumb]

verdict = max(range(4), key=probs.__getitem__)
```

| id | verdict | 
|---|---|
| 0 | That's not Numberwang. | 
| 1 | THAT'S NUMBERWANG! | 
| 2 | That's not even a number. It can never be Numberwang. | 
| 3 | That's Wangernumb! | 

| input | behaviour | 
|---|---|
| `42` ,`sixty-six` ,`12345` | digits or words | 
| `zweiundzwanzig` ,`veintidós` ,`tweeëntwintig` | eleven languages, accents optional | 
| `5*2` ,`96 divided by 2` ,`twelve plus four` | arithmetic, judged on the result | 
| `45 - 44` ,`double four` ,`eins` | anything worth 1 or 44 rotates the board | 
| `-7` ,`4.5` ,`£5` ,`50%` ,`9:30` | negatives, decimals, currency, units, times | 
| `XLIV` ,`twenty-third` ,`22nd` | Roman numerals and ordinals | 
| `fortnight` ,`vierendelen` ,`september` | words built on a number, judged as that number | 
| `achtneming` ,`often` ,`money` | words that merely contain one are not numbers | 
| `shinty-six` ,`twentington` | fictional numbers are numbers too | 
| `bonjour` ,`hello how are you` | no numeric content — can never be Numberwang | 

A number's wangness is a property of the **number**, not the language it
is said in: `four`, `vier`, `quatre` and `cuatro` all get the same verdict.

```
chars → Embedding(32) → Conv1d(128, k3) → ReLU
      → Conv1d(128, k3) → ReLU → global max pool
      → Linear(128) → ReLU → Linear(4) → softmax
```

80,804 parameters. The network reads characters directly — there is no
tokenizer, no normalizer and no rules engine at inference. Digits,
operators, canon verdicts and the eleven languages are all held in the
weights, and `model.json` contains the lot.

A hosted version runs on Hugging Face Spaces. To run the same demo locally:

```
pip install -r requirements.txt
python3 app.py
```

`gradio` is needed only for the demo. The model itself never needs it.

88.9% over 486 held-out adjudications (macro-F1 0.896), against a ceiling of roughly 98% — about 2% of training labels are inverted, in accordance with long-standing adjudication practice.

| class | precision | recall | F1 | 
|---|---|---|---|
| not Numberwang | 0.820 | 0.885 | 0.851 | 
| Numberwang | 0.919 | 0.900 | 0.910 | 
| not a number | 0.951 | 0.830 | 0.886 | 
| Wangernumb | 0.968 | 0.909 | 0.937 | 

**Arithmetic on unseen operands is the weak spot**, at 44–72%. The
network memorises rather than computes, so small common expressions like
`5*2` are reliable while `904 * 3` is an educated guess. If arithmetic
correctness matters, evaluate the expression and hand it the result.

MIT — see [LICENSE](https://github.com/GraafHenk/numberwang/blob/main/LICENSE).

*No warranty is expressed or implied as to whether any particular number
is, or is not, Numberwang.*