![]() ![]() It is, however, rare to find numbers that are significant across different cultures. But there are also a few surprises like 56, which is much-favoured by the builders of columns (Stonehenge, Tiananmen Square and Washington’s National War Memorial). All the big hitters are there, like 40 (a recurring figure in Semitic religions) and 12 (the astrologer’s staple). Laid out like a miniature encyclopaedia, Rogersons’s beautifully crafted references take us from the millions down to zero. Now, thanks to Rogerson’s Book of Numbers we have a delicious collection of the world’s holiest, most significant and wackiest integers. As Burroughs’s friend, Robert Wilson, noted, ‘When you start looking for something you tend to find it.’Īnd, boy, have we humans spent time giving meaning to numbers. At last, 23 was exposed it’s the psalm of choice at funerals in ancient Chinese tradition, it meant ‘breaking apart’. After that, Burroughs became obsessed by the portentousness of 23, and others followed. The same day, Flight 23 was reported lost in Florida. ![]() In 1960, William Burroughs met a sea captain who, after exactly 23 years at sea, was lost with all hands. Across the cultures, we’re nuts about numbers, with little thought for logic. Ever since we crept out of the swamps, we’ve been making numbers lucky, fearsome, ominous and even sacred. But they’re never odder than in the human context. Numbers, as every mathematician knows, do odd things. ![]()
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