Numerology

Numerology is any belief in the divine, mystical relationship between a number and one or more coinciding events.[1] It is often associated with the paranormal, alongside astrology and similar divinatory arts.[2]

Despite the long history of numerological ideas, the word "numerology" is not recorded in English before c.1907.[3]

The term numerologist can be used for those who place faith in numerical patterns and draw pseudo-scientific inferences from them, even if those people do not practice traditional numerology. For example, in his 1997 book Numerology: Or What Pythagoras Wrought, mathematician Underwood Dudley uses the term to discuss practitioners of the Elliott wave principle of stock market analysis.

History

Pythagoras and other philosophers of the time believed that because mathematical concepts were more "practical" (easier to regulate and classify) than physical ones, they had greater actuality. St. Augustine of Hippo (A.D. 354–430) wrote "Numbers are the Universal language offered by the deity to humans as confirmation of the truth." Similar to Pythagoras, he too believed that everything had numerical relationships and it was up to the mind to seek and investigate the secrets of these relationships or have them revealed by divine grace. See Numerology and the Church Fathers for early Christian beliefs on the subject.

In 325 AD, following the First Council of Nicaea, departures from the beliefs of the state church were classified as civil violations within the Roman Empire. Numerology had not found favor with the Christian authority of the day and was assigned to the field of unapproved beliefs along with astrology and other forms of divination and "magic". Despite this religious purging, the spiritual significance assigned to the heretofore "sacred" numbers had not disappeared; several numbers, such as the "Jesus number" have been commented and analyzed by Dorotheus of Gaza and numerology still is used at least in conservative Greek Orthodox circles.[4][5] However, despite the church's resistance to numerology, there have been arguments made for the presence of numerology in the bible and religious architecture. For example, the numbers 3 and 7 hold strong spiritual meaning in the bible. Jesus asked God 3 times if he could avoid crucifixion and was crucified at 3 in the afternoon. 7 is the length of famine and other God-imposed events and is sometimes followed by the number 8 as a symbol of change.[6] One example of this would be when Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses for marrying an Ethiopian woman, Miriam was required to go in the wilderness alone for 7 days and on the 8th day to rejoin Exodus. Another example would be when Elijah commanded his servant Ahab to return to Mt. Camel 7 in times to search for a certain cloud and on the 8th time he found it. The Chartres Cathedral was built with numerological influences as well. The adopted motto, "assumptio virginis beats mariae" holds the gematriac number 306. 306 was the number of a leading dimension of its design in Roman feet. 306 divided by 2 is 153 which is the number of the fish making an allusion to the fish caught by Simon Peter. The freemasonry movement developed from elite groups of contracted builders who wished to keep the technological methods and sacred significance of cathedral building a secret.[7]

Some alchemical theories were closely related to numerology. For example, Persian alchemist Jabir ibn Hayyan framed his experiments in an elaborate numerology based on the names of substances in the Arabic language.

Numerology is prominent in Sir Thomas Browne's 1658 literary Discourse The Garden of Cyrus. Throughout its pages the author attempts to demonstrate that the number five and the related Quincunx pattern can be found throughout the arts, in design, and in nature – particularly botany.

Modern numerology has various antecedents. Ruth A. Drayer's book, Numerology, The Power in Numbers (Square One Publishers) says that around the turn of the century (from 1800 to 1900 A.D.) Mrs. L. Dow Balliett combined Pythagoras' work with Biblical reference. Then on Oct 23, 1972, Balliett's student, Dr. Juno Jordan, changed Numerology further and helped it to become the system known today under the title "Pythagorean", although Pythagoras himself had nothing to do with the system. Dr. Jordan's work "The Romance in Your Name" provided a system for identifying what he called key numerological influences in one's name and birth date and remains used today. Subsequent 'numerologists' including Florence Campbell (1931),[8] Lynn Buess (1978), Mark Gruner (1979), Faith Javane and Dusty Bunker (1979) Numerology and the Divine Triangle, Kathleen Roquemore (1985) expanded on the use of numerology for assessing personality or events. These different schools of numerology give various methods for using numerology, however the meaning of the 9 digits remains the same.

Australian philosopher David Stove pointed out different pseudoscientific beliefs, for example numerology and astrology, may be pathological in different ways. When critiquing such pseudoscientific beliefs, philosophers and scientists should take into account that the fallacies that give rise to the "particular awfulness" of one pseudoscientific belief may not be applicable to another.[9]

Skepticism

Skeptics argue that numbers have no occult significance and cannot by themselves influence a person's life. Skeptics therefore regard numerology as a superstition and a pseudoscience that uses numbers to give the subject a veneer of scientific authority.[1]

Two studies have been done investigating numerological claims, both producing negative results. One in the UK in 1993[10] and one in 2012 in Israel. The experiment in Israel involved a professional numerologist and 200 participants. The experiment was repeated twice and still produced negative results.[11]

Methods

Alphabetic systems

There are various numerology systems which assign numerical value to the letters of an alphabet. Examples include the Abjad numerals in Arabic, the Hebrew numerals, Armenian numerals, and Greek numerals. The practice within Jewish tradition of assigning mystical meaning to words based on their numerical values, and on connections between words of equal value, is known as gematria.

For example, numbers are assigned to letters as follows:

.....and then summed. Examples:

A quicker way to arrive at a single-digit summation (the digital root) is simply to take the value modulo 9, substituting a 0 result with 9 itself.

Different methods of calculation exist, including Chaldean, Pythagorean, Hebraic, Helyn Hitchcock's method, Phonetic, Japanese, Arabic and Indian.

The examples above are calculated using decimal (base 10) arithmetic. Other number systems exist, such as binary, octal, hexadecimal and vigesimal; summing digits in these bases yields different results. The first example, shown above, appears thus when rendered in octal (base 8):

Abjad system

The Arabic system of numerology is known as Abjad notation or Abjad numerals. In this system each letter of Arabic alphabet has a numerical value. This system is the foundation of ilm-ul-cipher, the Science of Cipher, and ilm-ul-huroof, the Science of Alphabet:

ط=9 ح=8 ز=7 و=6 ه=5 د=4 ج=3 ب=2 أ=1

ص=90 ف=80 ع=70 س=60 ن=50 م=40 ل=30 ك=20 ي=10

ظ=900 ض=800 ذ=700 خ=600 ث=500 ت=400 ش=300 ر=200 ق=100

غ=1000

Chinese numerology

Some Chinese assign a different set of meanings to the numbers and certain number combinations are considered luckier than others. In general, even numbers are considered lucky, since it is believed that good luck comes in pairs.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), and its associated fields such as acupuncture, base their system on mystical numerical associations, such as the “12 vessels circulating blood and air corresponding to the 12 rivers flowing toward the Central Kingdom; and 365 parts of the body, one for each day of the year” being the basis of locating acupuncture points.[12]

Chinese number definitions

Cantonese frequently associate numbers with the following connotations (based on its sound), which may differ in other varieties of Chinese:

  1. 一 [jɐ́t]  – sure
  2. 二 [ji̭ː]  – easy 易 [ji̭ː]
  3. 三 [sáːm]  – live 生 [sáːŋ] but it can also be seen as a halved eight when using Arabic numerals (3) (8) and so considered unlucky.
  4. 四 [sēi]  – considered unlucky since 4 is a homophone with the word for death or suffering 死 [sěi], yet in the Shanghainese, it is a homophone of water (水)and is considered lucky since water is associated with money.
  5. 五 [ŋ̬]  – the self, me, myself 吾 [ŋ̭], nothing, never 唔 [ŋ, m] in the Shanghainese, it is a homophone of fish (鱼)
  6. 六 [lùːk]  – easy and smooth, all the way
  7. 七 [tsʰɐ́t]  – a slang/vulgar word in Cantonese.
  8. 八 [pāːt]  – sudden fortune, prosperity 發 [fāːt]
  9. 九 [kɐ̌u]  – long in time 久 [kɐ̌u], enough 夠 [kɐ̄u] or a slang/vulgar word derived from dog 狗 [kɐ̌u] in Cantonese

Some "lucky number" combinations include:

Indian numerology

In South India, mostly Tamil Nadu, the numbers assigned to English alphabets are different. The list is shown below:

There is no assignment for the number 9. Numerologists analyze double-digit numbers from 10 to 99.

Other uses of the term

To describe questionable concepts based on possibly coincidental numerical patterns

Scientific theories are sometimes labeled "numerology" if their primary inspiration appears to be a set of patterns rather than scientific observations. This colloquial use of the term is quite common within the scientific community and it is mostly used to dismiss a theory as questionable science.

The best known example of "numerology" in science involves the coincidental resemblance of certain large numbers that intrigued such eminent men as mathematical physicist Paul Dirac, mathematician Hermann Weyl and astronomer Arthur Stanley Eddington. These numerical coincidences refer to such quantities as the ratio of the age of the universe to the atomic unit of time, the number of electrons in the universe, and the difference in strengths between gravity and the electric force for the electron and proton. ("Is the Universe Fine Tuned for Us?", Stenger, V.J., page 3[13]).

The discovery of atomic triads (dealing with elements primarily in the same group or column of the periodic table) was considered a form of numerology, and yet ultimately led to the construction of the periodic table. Here the atomic weight of the lightest element and the heaviest are summed, and averaged, and the average is found to be very close to that of the intermediate weight element. This didn't work with every triplet in the same group, but worked often enough to allow later workers to create generalizations. See Döbereiner's triads

Large number co-incidences continue to fascinate many mathematical physicists. For instance, James G. Gilson has constructed a "Quantum Theory of Gravity" based loosely on Dirac's large number hypothesis.[14]

Wolfgang Pauli was also fascinated by the appearance of certain numbers, including 137, in physics.[15] British mathematician I. J. Good wrote:

There have been a few examples of numerology that have led to theories that transformed society: see the mention of Kirchhoff and Balmer in Good (1962, p. 316) ... and one can well include Kepler on account of his third law. It would be fair enough to say that numerology was the origin of the theories of electromagnetism, quantum mechanics, gravitation.... So I intend no disparagement when I describe a formula as numerological.

When a numerological formula is proposed, then we may ask whether it is correct. ... I think an appropriate definition of correctness is that the formula has a good explanation, in a Platonic sense, that is, the explanation could be based on a good theory that is not yet known but ‘exists’ in the universe of possible reasonable ideas.

— I. J. Good[16]

Attempts by gamblers to see patterns in random chance

Some players apply methods that are sometimes called numerological in games which involve numbers but no skill, such as bingo, roulette, keno, or lotteries. Although no strategy can be applied to increase odds in such games, players may employ "lucky numbers" to find what they think will help them. There is no evidence that any such "numerological strategy" yields a better outcome than pure chance, but the methods are sometimes encouraged, e.g. by casino owners.[17]

In popular culture

Numerology is a popular plot device in fiction. Sometimes it is a casual element used for comic effect, such as in an episode titled "The Séance" of the 1950s TV sitcom I Love Lucy, where Lucy dabbles in numerology. Sometimes it is a central motif of the storyline, such as the movie π, in which the protagonist meets a numerologist searching for hidden numerical patterns in the Torah; the TV show Touch which focuses almost entirely on the role of numerology in the events and coincidences of any person's life; and the movie The Number 23, based on claimed mysteries of the number 23.

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 "The Skeptic's Dictionary: numerology". Skepdic.com. Retrieved 2012-08-31.
  2. ↑ Lynne Kelly (2004). The Skeptic's Guide To The Paranormal. Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-74114-059-5.
  3. ↑ "numerology, n.". OED Online. September 2012. Oxford University Press. http://oed.com/view/Entry/129129?redirectedFrom=numerology& (accessed November 23, 2012).
  4. ↑ Η Ελληνική γλώσσα, ο Πλάτων, ο Αριστοτέλης και η Ορθοδοξία (in Greek). Acrobase.gr. Retrieved 2012-08-31.
  5. ↑ Αγαπητέ Πέτρο, Χρόνια Πολλά και ευλογημένα από Τον Κύριο Ημών Ιησού Χριστό (in Greek). Users.otenet.gr. Retrieved 2012-08-31.
  6. ↑ Holcombe, A.D. (January 1, 1997). "Biblical Numerology Confirms the Spiritual Validity of Its Contents". Journal of Religion & Psychical Research.
  7. ↑ Grattan-Guiness, I (May 1, 1992). "Counting the notes: Numerology in the Works of Mozart Especial Die Zauberflote". Annals of Science.
  8. ↑ Campbell, Florence (1931). Your Days Are Numbered: A Manual of Numerology for Everybody. DeVorss & Company. ISBN 0-87-516422-6.
  9. ↑ "It is the same story even beyond the pale. For example, no one actually knows, even, what is wrong with numerology. Philosophers, of course, use numerology as a stock example of thought gone hopelessly wrong, and they are right to do so; still, they cannot tell you what it is that is wrong with it. If you ask a philosopher this, the best he will be able to come up with is a bit of Positivism about unverifiability, or a bit of Popperism about unfalsifiability: answers which the philosopher himself will know to be unsatisfactory on various grounds, but which have in addition this defect, that they put numerology in the same boat as, for example, astrology. But numerology is actually quite as different from astrology as astrology is from astronomy. Philosophers do not know this, because, while they often look at the astrological parts of newspapers for fun, they never read a book of numerology. If they did, they would soon find out that the peculiar awfulness of numerology, while clearly quite different from that of astrology, is utterly elusive in itself." David Stove, "What Is Wrong With Our Thoughts?", chapter 7 of Stove's The Plato Cult and Other Philosophical Follies (Blackwell, 1991).
  10. ↑ http://www.assap.ac.uk/newsite/articles/Numerology.html
  11. ↑ http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fsharp-thinking.com%2Fcategory%2F%25D7%2599%25D7%25A2%25D7%2595%25D7%25A5-%25D7%2595%25D7%2597%25D7%2599%25D7%2596%25D7%2595%25D7%2599-%25D7%259E%25D7%2599%25D7%25A1%25D7%2598%25D7%2599%2F%25D7%25A0%25D7%2595%25D7%259E%25D7%25A8%25D7%2595%25D7%259C%25D7%2595%25D7%2592%25D7%2599%25D7%2594%2F
  12. ↑ ”Seeing the Body: The Divergence of Ancient Chinese and Western Medical Illustration”, Camillia Matuk, Northwestern University,
  13. ↑ "Colorado University" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-08-31.
  14. ↑ "fine-structure-constant.org". fine-structure-constant.org. Retrieved 2012-08-31.
  15. ↑ Cosmic numbers: Pauli and Jung's love of numerology, by Dan Falk, Magazine issue 2705, 24 April 2009 – New Scientist
  16. ↑ I. J. Good (1990). "A Quantal Hypothesis for Hadrons and the Judging of Physical Numerology." in G. R. Grimmett (Editor), D. J. A. Welsh (Editor). Disorder in Physical Systems. Oxford University Press. p. 141. ISBN 978-0198532156. line feed character in |title= at position 78 (help)
  17. ↑ "Number Symbolism – Myth or Reality?". CasinoObserver.com. Retrieved 2013-03-06.

References

External links

Look up numerology in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
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