An assignment from ENGL 105 at UNC, among one of the more moronic of their universal requirements

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People are always seeking for meaning with their lives. They desire a sense of significance hidden below [why below? not that it’s a problem, I’m just wondering] and within what they interact with every day. Numbers, objects invented to represent states in reality, have been claimed to posses supernatural qualities that extend their meaning beyond our initial assignment. These fallacious claims are bound together and referred to as “Numerology”. With a fatal tendency to ignore ulterior ascriptions to patterns, Numerology [capitalization? Not sure if it is supposed to be capitalized] places itself under the category of pseudoscience.

Throughout many pseudosciences, and in some cases sciences, Numerology [Cap?] has played a role. In Astrology, [Cap?] it is believed that each of the numbers 0 through 9 is ruled by a planet in our solar system. In acupuncture, it is believed that each blood vessel that circulates blood and air within the body corresponds to a river flowing toward the Central Kingdom and the practices goes as far as to divide the body into 365 individual parts based on the calendar year. Even in Physics [cap], Paul Dirac posited a relationship between the length of the universe and the strength of gravity. (Main wiki page, viable source needed).

As a result of this pervasiveness, it is important to be able to properly label and identify numerology as it may unjustly serve arguments in making their claim. This may be done by mathematically analyzing the foundation of claims that appear numerological, and subsequently relegating the cause of such claims to either casual or mathematical coincidence.

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, The sources of data and evidence for this examination include an article, which compiles data from various sources, on howstuffworks.com by Tracy Wilson, the site director. They also include an article on the Skeptical Inquirer called “Acupuncture, Magic, and Make-Believe” by George A. Ulett who is a clinical professor of psychiatry. An article from the same magazine called “Coincidences: Remarkable or Random?” from the same magazine by Bruce Martin, a professor of Chemistry at the University of Virginia. And finally a book called “Numerology or what Pythagorus wrought” by Dudley Underwood who holds a PhD from University of Michigan and a bachelor’s and master’s from Carnegie institute of Technology all in mathematics.