11.12.13
How amazing is that and it's the last time this will ever happen during this Century. I feel inexplicably excited about it... sort of bubbly inside. Why am I so influenced by numbers? Goodness knows! There's no logical explanation but I know that I'm not the only one and so I'm offering 3 thoughts on the matter.
Why 3? That's easy...
Firstly I added up the individual numbers in today's date. 1 + 1 + 1 + 2 + 1 + 3. That comes to 9.
Secondly I added them up a different way. 11 + 12 +13. That comes to 36. Add those two numbers and you still get 9.
Thirdly the square root of 9 is 3. So here are my 3 thoughts on my fascination for numbers:
Number 1. I love numbers that are consecutive, palindromic or, even better, all the same. If I park the car and the milometer is showing 8888 then I get excited. It's not that I expect anything special to happen. It's just... well, it's just pleasing.
Number 3. I feel uneasy about the mystical aspect of Hebrew letters. Each letter of the Hebrew alphabet also has a numerical value. This gives words different layers of meaning and some people believe that the deeper meanings can be interpreted in a mystical way. I understand very little about it. Maybe that's why it makes me feel uneasy.
What are your thoughts about numbers? Do you have a lucky number, an unlucky number? Do number patterns excite you... inexplicably?
Hi. Totally missed the number lineup. Good observation. I don't really think much about lucky or unlucky numbers. My house number is 1325, and 13 doesn't bother me. But three sixes in a row? That would bother me---a lot. Too much biblical drama there.
ReplyDeleteFunny how there's always at least one number that gets to everyone!
DeleteI love numbers and always feel the need to celebrate till they're round and linked to my age.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, we'll forget about those age-related numbers shall we! ;-)
DeleteHi Ros .. I heard about the number line up - but it was v early and cannot for the life of me remember what it was .. except 11, 12 and 13 were a once in a life time set ... 13 is my lucky number, and I've been happy to live at number 13 more than once in my life .. and be 13 on Friday 13th - many moons ago!
ReplyDeleteAs for counting each letter of each word/sentence I write to see if it has hidden meaning .. is a step too far!
Interesting post though .. cheers Hilary
I know quite a few people who say that 13 is their lucky number.
DeleteI think what I love about this is its very arbitrariness - the fact that we count to a root of 10 and not, say 20. The fact that years are counted backwards and forwards from a 0 year that might or might not have religious significance (in the west - some Asian countries have different calendars). The division of the year into 12 months - all of which leads to this coincidental patterning of numbers.
ReplyDeleteThese things are seen as auspicious in some cultures. Maybe they are - let's hope so, and something magical and wonderful happens today (like the fog lifting so my bus is on time, maybe?)
Base ten is easy, not like base 12 from when we were at school! And then there's that tribe, I think they're Indian, who have no word for numbers other than 'one' and 'more than one'. The Jewish Year is 5774. Not sure I could find many patterns there!
Deletesee, you are talking to the person who failed O level maths. Twice. Who was told by their teacher that they were a waste of space. Hate numbers. Hate maths. Can see the pattern and glad you are excited. *hides*
ReplyDeleteI bet you don't hate patterns. If I had you in my class I could get you to love, just a little.
DeleteI've not really given numbers much thought but you make them sound very interesting.I live in house 101 and always feel a bit put out when that TV programme comes on that puts all the useless things in room 101.
ReplyDeleteI was born in 65. I have 5 daughters. Every street I've ever lived or worked on was associated with the number 6
Delete5.
It was Orwell who put the mockers on 101, wasn't it, Anne. That's an interesting number pattern, Shelly :-)
DeleteI wonder if there were a lot of weddings today, or if more people thought of November 12 as being lucky. I've never been very good with numbers, though I'm better at memorizing phone numbers than many teenagers who depend on their cell phones. Just another skill that will get me nowhere!
ReplyDeleteJulie
I believe there were quite a few extra weddings.
DeleteI am commenting on Friday the 13th - and I think that's lucky. I'm not afraid of 13. I love when the car odometer hits a row - it's like a slot machine - ding, ding, ding. My personal number is 8. Numbers are fun and you can take them where you want to go. Hope all is well in your world - enjoy the weekend
ReplyDeleteThat's what it is! Like a fruit machine! Agreed.
DeleteI too am here on Friday, the 13th. But 1 plus 3 makes 4, which is one of the good numbers to my mind. I like 4 and 8. Don't like 3 and 7, don't know why. Have a happy Friday, the 13th!
ReplyDeleteYou like evens, not odds. I can understand that ;-)
DeleteWe used to live at number 13 and it didn't bring us bad luck. But this Friday 13th our electricity went off for 40.5 hours, which wasn't pleasant. I find numbers interesting, but I think Hebrew gematria is taken much too seriously. ~Miriam
ReplyDeleteYou're the first commenter to mention the Hebrew angle. If I understood it I could comment. Maybe one day I'll read up on it.
DeleteI've never been much good at numbers, having a tendency to read them the wrong way round. I struggled with them at school and even my parents were amazed I passed maths O level. But yes, I can see the appeal of this type of thing, the way the numbers always come down to the same combinations. I also like to watch the meter on the car and get excited when I see a special number come up. No special numbers for me, but I enjoy these patterns. A great post, Ros!
ReplyDeleteYou see! That's what I told Carol. It's all about patterns.
Delete11/12/13. And when it was a quarter past 2 in the afternoon and 16 seconds it would be:
ReplyDelete11/12/13 14:15:16.
Oh wow! Why didn't you tell me about this at the time? I would have loved to see it happen!!
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