Is Numerology a Valid Science?

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The short answer is, no.  The longer answer is, no, but there are numerological artifacts that have attracted notice among scientists.  When combined with geometry, these artifacts become significant.

Since ancient times, mystics and others have sought to find secret meanings in numbers.  This interest took two routes.  One route was to try to predict the future.  The other was to seek spiritual insight into the structure and meaning of nature.  Both of these routes, during recent decades, have produced astonishing results.

Predicting the future with numbers is no longer practiced by mathematicians in the same way as hucksters do.  Scientists do not consider the number 7 to be lucky, nor 13 to be unlucky.  But the use of statistics and probability in actuarial science is not only widely practiced, it is at the very heart of the insurance industry, as well as being useful in many other fields, from economics, to weather forecasting, and quantum physics.

I recall that in the 1960s, just prior to a summer holiday, a prediction was made public that X number (where X was a precise number, like say, 55,032) of Americans would die over the weekend in automobile crashes.  This prediction was widely scoffed at by the public.  After the holiday ended, however, we were stunned by the accuracy, within just a very few, say like 8, of the prediction.  It felt like predestination, like a violation of the principle of free will.

Interestingly, the following year, a very similar prediction was made, but this time, the actual deaths were far fewer than the prediction.  Why?  The second prediction was so firmly believed, that people actually became more careful on the road, and/or traveled less, reducing the death rate.

Since then the effect of the prediction itself has been factored into the predictions, and once again, they are almost spot on.

But actuarial statistics is not what people think of when they hear the term, numerology.  They think more in terms of a mysterious looking man in an astrological-themed costume, burning incense, or whatever.

If so, then, what about seeking spiritual insight into the workings of nature?  Has that happened?

Again, the short answer is no, but a longer answer involves the word, yes.

There is a set of numbers called, the Fibonacci sequence, which is a very simple string of numbers in which each number is the sum of the preceding two numbers.  For example,

0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21 etc., toward infinity

That may seem like a simple amusement, but consider this quote from Wikipedia:

Fibonacci numbers appear unexpectedly often in mathematics, so much so that there is an entire journal dedicated to their study, the Fibonacci Quarterly. Applications of Fibonacci numbers include computer algorithms such as the Fibonacci search technique and the Fibonacci heap data structure, and graphs called Fibonacci cubes used for interconnecting parallel and distributed systems. They also appear in biological settings, such as branching in trees, phyllotaxis (the arrangement of leaves on a stem), the fruit sprouts of a pineapple, the flowering of an artichoke, an uncurling fern and the arrangement of a pine cone's bracts.

Other biological examples include the curling structure in sea creatures that have curled, snail-like shells.

Also from Wikipedia:

The discovery of atomic triads, an early attempt to sort the elements into some logical order by their physical properties, was once considered a form of numerology, and yet ultimately led to the construction of the periodic table. . . . .

British mathematician I. J. Good wrote:

There have been a few examples of numerology that have led to theories that transformed society: . . .. It would be fair enough to say that numerology was the origin of the theories of electromagnetism, quantum mechanics, gravitation. . .

 ... 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.

Our search for the meaning of life in numbers is not giving us the satisfying answers that Lady Magica Serenity can, down at the local fortune teller parlor, but then Lady Magica has been known to make off with her customer’s hard-earned money after giving them bad advice.

However, we still have hope.  Geometry is known to have a lot of mathematical involvement, as anyone who has struggled with the Pythagorean Theorem, and sines and cosines, well knows.  Are there any recent developments in that field?

The short answer is, yes, and the longer answer is, yes indeed!

Two subject areas jump out at us.  One of them is the study of fractals, and the other is Penrose tiling, developed by the famous Sir Roger Penrose, an English mathematical physicist, mathematician and philosopher of science, and if I am not mistaken, a tow truck driver in his spare time.  (I am probably mistaken about that last one.)

Fractal geometry sounds boring, but the videos online are fascinating to watch, no matter how much you hate geometry.  Likewise, Penrose tiling.  Both of these at first seem like idle amusements, but as in the case of the Fibonacci numbers, they have important applications, not only in the study of nature, but even in mundane practical matters as well.

Looking at my deck of Tarot cards, I predict that the future of numerology will lead to earth shaking discoveries that will revolutionize our understanding of reality, and improve our standard of living, and not just for Lady Magica.  Numbers don’t lie.  (Warning:  however, Lady Magica does.)

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