The world is, not so much a set of equations and numbers, but a system where the equations and numbers play an important part.
What is most important in a system are the logical aspects that might well be described as “consciousness” and “creativity”. In a system, knowledge/ awareness of oneself and one’s surroundings, on the part of the elements in the system, is paramount. And also paramount in a system, is the ability to creatively respond to one’s surroundings, i.e. to “jump” the numbers. An equation, that represents an inevitable law, does NOT represent a creative response to one’s surroundings. Clearly, the equations represent a non-creative response to the creative “number jumps” that are undertaken by the elements of the system (e.g. particles) in response to situations encountered.
While the real world is a genuinely creative system, model systems need to substitute rules or algorithms for this creativity, because the elements in a model system are not like the creative, independent elements that comprise the real-world system.
In the real-world system, the elements of the system (e.g. particles or atoms) are clearly aware not only of (what we would represent as) numbers. The elements have done a primitive logical analysis, and they are aware of number change, and the category “time” reflects this awareness.