资源描述:
《number symbolism.pdf》由会员上传分享,免费在线阅读,更多相关内容在学术论文-天天文库。
1、TableofContentsArticleNumeralsandnumerologyArithmomancyPythagoreanismCulturalassociationsofsomenumberso1o2o3o4o5o6o7o8o9o10o11o12o13o14o15o16o17o18o19o20o100NumberandrealityoNature’snumbersoNumber’snatureAdditionalReadingCitationsARTICLEfromtheEncyclopædiaBrita
2、nnicanumbersymbolism,culturalassociations,includingreligious,philosophic,andaesthetic,withvariousnumbers.Humanityhashadalove-haterelationshipwithnumbersfromtheearliesttimes.Bonesdatingfromperhaps30,000yearsagoshowscratchmarksthatpossiblyrepresentthephasesoftheMoon.Thea
3、ncientBabyloniansobservedthemovementsoftheplanets,recordedthemasnumbers,andusedthemtopredicteclipsesandotherastronomicalphenomena.ThepriesthoodofancientEgyptusednumberstopredictthefloodingoftheNile.Pythagoreanism,acultofancientGreece,believedthatnumberswerethebasisofth
4、eentireuniverse,whichranonnumericalharmony.ThePythagoreans’ideaswereamixtureofprescience(thenumericalfeaturesofmusicalsounds)andmysticism(3ismale,4isfemale,and10isthemostperfectnumber).Numberswereassociatedwithnamesformagicalpurposes:thebiblical“numberofthebeast,”666,i
5、sprobablyanexampleofthispractice.Morerecently,crankshavesoughtthesecretsoftheuniverseinthedimensionsoftheGreatPyramidofGiza,anaberrationsocommonthatitevenhasaname—pyramidology.Millionsofotherwiserationalpeopleareterrifiedofthenumber13,totheextentthathotelsomititfromthe
6、irfloors,airplanesdonothavearow13,andthenumbersforFormula1racingcarsskipfrom12to14sothat,forexample,22carswouldbenumberedfrom1to23.Learnedtomesarewrittenaboutthesignificanceofsuchstalwartsasthegoldennumber(1.618034),whichdoesoccurinfloweringplantsandmodernarchitectureb
7、utdoesnotoccurintheshellofthenautilusandancientGreekarchitecture,despiteendlessmythstothecontrary.Manyreligionshavetheirsacrednumbers,asdoorganizationssuchasFreemasonry;WolfgangAmadeusMozart’smusic,notablytheMagicFlute(1791),includesmanyintentionalreferencestoMasonicnu
8、merology.Mathematicsisthestudyofnumbers,shapes,andrelatedstructures.Numbermysticismbelongselsewhereandisgenerallycate