The Mystery of Numbers

by Annemarie Schimmel

Book Overview

Why is the number seven lucky--even holy--in almost every culture? Why do we speak of the four corners of the earth? Why do cats have nine lives (except in Iran, where they have seven)? From literature to folklore to private superstitions, numbers play a conspicuous role in our daily lives. But in this fascinating book, Annemarie Schimmel shows that numbers have been filled with mystery and meaning since the earliest times, and across every society.
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• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195089197
• ISBN13: 9780195089196
• Release Date: April 1994
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.6" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Good Cultural Variety

I liked that this book reviewed a variety of cultures with the historical significance of numbers. It was useful for me in writing a paper on cultural uses of numbers.

A sense of existential perfection

This book is to this date the best book that I have ever read. It deals with a subject matter that is at once simple and at once infinite- a subject that is unambiguous and clear and a the same time infinitely convoluted. In a word, numbers. I picked up this book in the math section of a local used book store. I was excited by the cover title at first "The Mystery of Numbers" and so I picked it up and flipped through it. I quickly realized that this book was substantive in information as well as artistic detail. This book has some sketches especially of things like the Mayan calendar and things of the like. I had to buy the book because mathematical history, theory and mysticism was something that I was just beginning to fancy an interest for. In any event I began to read the book and was just so impressed. This book is written not only with the vocabulary and descriptive detail and accuracy of an expert- this book is fully of beautiful linguistically novelty. Annemarie does a brilliant job covering the bases and wowing the reader. Did you know that any multiple of the number 9 can be added within it's self to give you 9! For example.. 9x5 = 45---- 4 + 5=9! 9x3 = 27 --- 2 + 7 = 9! 9X10 = 90 ---- 9 + 0 = 9! The only example I can find to the contrary is 11 x 9 = 99 and 9 +9 is 18 not 9...but of course 18 is 1 and 8 which make up that mystical 9 once again. This kind of stuff in conjunction with a history of civilizations and religious significance of numbers is what this book is about. It is not a pseudo sceince book claiming any diety of aline race is behind anything- -this book is a wonderful book written by a brilliant scholar from Harvard who very sadly just passed away. I was going to send her an emial and congradualte her on this book. That is how deeply I felt about her work on this issue. [...] But, I was just a little too late. Please do yourself a big favor and make sure you read this "one."

Numbers and their meaning

This book is a must for anyone who is interested in the meaning of numbers. Since number is an archetype of the physical world, it has many meanings and mysteries. Annemarie Schimmel has provided us with her extensive exploration of the many meanings of numbers. I highly recommend this book.

An anthology of mysterious numbers

What are the roots of the divine "Trinity" concept or what is the secret meaning of Buddha's 3 bodies? Why was Amon-Ra called "The Lord of 4 directions" or why had the god Shiva 4 arms? What is the significance of number 5 in pentagram? Why the star of Israel had six corners? How come the number 13 is believed to bring bad luck in some traditions while in Mayan culture it is one of the essential numbers? Annemarie Schimmel, a specialist on Eastern philosophies, presents a very interesting and entertaining anthology of mysterious numbers in "The Mystery of Numbers". The book follows a linear path and begins with "Number 1" and passes several "stations" of curious numbers along the way. It also has an introduction that gives a summary about the numbering systems of various cultures. You can either keep it on your bookshelf to consult for some specific numbers from time to time, or you can carry it in your pocket and have your daily fun.

Complex and Intricate Mysteries Unraveled

This is a rather odd but very enjoyable book. It begins with a very brief introduction to different number systems and beliefs about numbers, covering the Pythagoreans, gnosticism, the Cabala, Islamic mysticism, medieval numerology and numerical puzzles. The bulk of the book is a kind of encyclopedia of numbers: each of the numbers up to 21 gets its own chapter; after that they are dealt with "en masse". Each chapter is an unordered and unstructured compilation of beliefs about the subject number, mostly drawn from Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Unfortunately, there is no attempt at cross-cultural comparative analysis or at relating beliefs about numbers to other symbolic systems. This book might better serve as a reference rather than a complete read. It is very interesting but might be too much for one reading.