scientific article; zbMATH DE number 1092356
This is a polemical and occasionally speculative book on numerology, the pseudoscience that applies numerical properties to assess and predict events. Rooted in the philosophy of Pythagoras and given more systematic hue in the \textit{Theology of Arithmetic} compiled by \textit{Iamblichus} at the beginning of the Christian era, it continues to flourish. A gallery of human folly is acidly on display, including gematria and the number of the Beast, the pioneering work of Josephine Balliett (1847-1929?) on reading individual characteristics from an assigned number, numerology of the Bible, Shakespeare and Egyptian pyramids, enneagrams, golden selection, biorhythms and the Elliott Wave Theory for stock prices, some of which turnd out to be quite lucrative for their proponents. Occasionally some honest mathematics intrudes to provide context, and there is an interesting chapter on a popular mediaeval game of strategy, rithmomachy, played with numbered pieces on a \(8\times 16\) checkerboard. This volume does not just entertain the reader, but warns us to keep ``the dark forces of chaos and unreason in check less they overwhelm us and push back civilization. (Editorial note: A German translation has been published by Birkhäuser, Basel in 1999).
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