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Numerology
Numerology is any of many systems, traditions or beliefs in a
mystical or esoteric relationship between numbers and physical
objects or living things.
Numerology and numerological divination by systems such as
isopsephy were popular among early mathematicians, such as
Pythagoras, but are no longer considered part of mathematics and
are regarded as pseudomathematics by modern scientists.[1][2]
This is similar to the historical relationships between
astrology and astronomy, and between alchemy and chemistry.
Today, numerology is often associated with the occult, alongside
astrology and similar divinatory arts.[citation needed]
The term can also be used for those who, in the view of some
observers, place excess faith in numerical patterns, even if
those people don't 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. |
Number
definitions
There are no set definitions for the meaning of specific
digits. Common examples include:
0. Everything or absoluteness. All
1. Individual. Aggressor. Yang.
2. Balance. Union. Receptive. Yin.
3. Communication/interaction. Neutrality.
4. Creation.
5. Action. Restlessness.
6. Reaction/flux. Responsibility.
7. Thought/consciousness.
8. Power/sacrifice.
9. Highest level of change.
10. Rebirth.
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Methods
Number
definitions
There are no set definitions for the meaning of
specific digits. Common examples include:[5]
0. Everything or absoluteness. All
1. Individual. Aggressor. Yang.
2. Balance. Union. Receptive. Yin.
3. Communication/interaction. Neutrality.
4. Creation.
5. Action. Restlessness.
6. Reaction/flux. Responsibility.
7. Thought/consciousness.
8. Power/sacrifice.
9. Highest level of change.
10. Rebirth.
Alphabetic
systems
There are many 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.
1= a, j, s; 2= b, k, t; 3= c, l, u; 4= d, m, v; 5= e, n, w; 6= f, o,
x; 7= g, p, y; 8= h, q, z; 9= i, r
...and are then summed.
Examples:
- 3,489 → 3 + 4 + 8 + 9 = 24 → 2 + 4 = 6
- Hello → 8 + 5 + 3 + 3 + 6 = 25 → 2 + 5 = 7
A quicker way to arrive at a single-digit
"summation" 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):
- 3,48910 = 66418 → 6 +
6 + 4 + 1 = 218 → 2 + 1 = 38 = 310
Pythagorean
system
In some cases, in a type of numerological
divination, the
name and birth date of an individual would be used to analyze and define
personality and propensities, based upon a system implemented by the
philosopher Pythagoras.[6][7]
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.
Chinese
number definitions
Cantonese frequently assign the following
definitions, which may differ in other Chinese languages:
-
一(jɐt7) — sure
-
二(ji6) — easy
(易/ji6)
-
三(sam1) — live
(生/saŋ1)
-
四(sei3) —
considered unlucky since 4 is a
homophone with
the word for death or suffering (死/sei2), yet in the
Shanghainese,
it is a homophone of water (水) and is considered lucky since water is
associated with money.
-
五(ŋ5) — the
self, me, myself (吾/ŋ4), nothing, never (唔/ng, m)
-
六(luk9) — easy
and smooth, all the way
-
七(tsɐt7) — a
slang/vulgar word
in Cantonese.
-
八(bat8) —
sudden fortune, prosperity (發/fat8)
-
九(gɐu2) — long
in time (久/gɐu2), enough (夠/gɐu3) or a
slang/vulgar word
derived from dog (狗/gɐu2) in Cantonese
Some lucky number combinations include:
- 99 — doubly long in time, hence eternal;
used in the name of a popular Chinese-American supermarket chain,
99 Ranch Market.
- 168 — road of prosperity or to be prosperous
together literal translation is "continuing to be wealthy"— many
premium-pay telephone numbers in
China begin
with this number. It is also the name of a motel chain in China (Motel
168).
- 518 — I will prosper, other variations
include: 5189 (I will prosper for a long time), 516289 (I will get on
a long, smooth prosperous road) and 5918 (I will soon prosper)
- 814 — Similar to 168, this means "be
wealthy, entire life". 148 also implies the same meaning "entire life
be wealthy".
- 888 — Three times the prosperity,
means "wealthy wealthy wealthy". (E.g., the 2008 Summer Olympics in
Beijing were designated by the Chinese officials to begin on the most
auspicious date possible to ensure the success of the Games for its
hosts: August 8, 2008—on the 8th day, of the 8th month in the 8th year
of the new millennium.)
- 1314 — whole lifetime, existence.
- 289 — This combination is quite straight forward: ease in finding
enough luck/fortune and holding it for a long time. (2 is easy, 8 is
fortune, 9 is enough and/or for a long time)
Other
fields
Numerology
and astrology
Some
astrologers
believe that each number from 0 to 9 is ruled by a celestial body in our
solar system.
Numerology
and alchemy
Many
alchemical
theories were closely related to numerology.
Persian alchemist
Jabir ibn Hayyan,
inventor of many chemical processes still used today, framed his
experiments in an elaborate numerology based on the names of substances
in the
Arabic language.
"Numerology"
in science
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 co-incidences 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[8]).
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.[9]
Wolfgang Pauli
was also fascinated by the appearance of certain numbers, including 137,
in physics.[10]
Numerology
in gaming
Numerology is sometimes referred to as the only effective method when
it comes to playing such games like bingo, roulette, keno, lotteries
and other games with numbers. Due to the fact no strategy can be applied
to increase player odds, players turn to leaning numbers in order to
find what they think will help them.
For example, numerology is frequently used in
the game of roulette where players bet on a single number. Special tools
called the Lucky number generators are used to find out person’s lucky
numbers based on basic principles of this study.[11]
Popular
culture
Numerology is a popular plot device in fiction.
It can range from a casual item for comic effect, such as in an episode
titled The Seance of the 1950s TV sitcom
I Love Lucy,
where Lucy dabbles in numerology, to a central element of the storyline,
such as the movie
π, in which
the protagonist meets a numerologist searching for hidden numerical
patterns in the
Torah. The movie
The Number 23,
starring
Jim Carrey, was
based on the mystery of the number
23.
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