May Contain Peanuts

Lucky!

(I suggest drinking a beer while reading this to contrast the nerdy content within)

My grandfather was born on July 7, 1930. This means that this year, he turned 77 on 7/7/07. Now if that's not a lucky number, I don't know what is. Of course we all told him to go buy a lottery ticket or two and do things that involve chance, simpy because the numbers are on his side. Deep down, we all knew, however, that is was just another day and a great coincidence that this happened.

Today's thoughts are about how we can often get caught up in numbers and our superstitions about them. We all know 7s are lucky and 6s are evil. 2 is a nice round number, there are great tricks to be done with 9s, and everything works off of 10s. Here's a quote I found pertinent:

"The creator of the universe works in mysterious ways. But he uses a base ten counting system and likes round numbers." -Scott Adams, US cartoonist (1957 - )

It's funny how things work out for us number wise, that we put so much meaning on items that are indeed random or generic, but have nice numeric associations. For example, when you see 12:34 pm on a clock or see strings of numbers you recognize, you can feel a connection with that item, more so then if they were some other random number; when in fact, the number itself is just as random as the others. Those 'lucky' numbers you play in the lottery are just random numbers you have grown to like, and standout to you though they are just as likely to win as any other number to be picked.

I don't mean to get into number theory or some extensive mathematical issues, but rather I mean to point out that the value of our numerical assocations are purely personal matters, and that the numbers themselves are mere random generations of the world around us. What's great about or numerical associations is that it is another means of setting us apart in this vast world; the fact that we can take something from nature or mathematics and give it personal meaning an value. Since numbers are all around us, these associations help keep us interested, entertained and going in a mundane world. There are the easy go tos such as "69" or "420" or "5318008" (those of you who had a calculator in 5th grade will know that one) that are good for a laugh when they appear in our day to day matters. If you see your old address number or birthday number somewhere, you can connect with whatever issue that is, rather than just dismiss it as another object of unimportance.

I guess my point of this blurb is that for all the thought of 'luck' or 'meaning' with numbers, the fact is that they are merely numbers and one can not be counted on more than another. It's great to have associations with a certain number or string you like, it keeps things interesting. Just remember that numbers follow rules, and all are equal.