Numerology is the delusion that numbers have power over events. It is a descendent of number mysticism, the belief the contemplation of numbers can give mystical and non-rational insights into life, the universe and everything. 2500 years ago, Pythagoras originated number mysticism, crediting certain numbers with characteristics, through numerology, is a more recent invention that allots numbers, hence characteristics, to individuals. Underwood Dudley outlines here the history of number mysticism and numerology and gives many examples, including biorhythyms, Bible-numberists, pyramidologists and a plethora of others. His message is that numbers do indeed have power, but over minds not events. This is the only book that exposes this particular human folly, and requires no mathematical background beyond knowledge of numbers.
Underwood Dudley was born in New York City quite a number of years ago. He got bachelor's and master's degrees (mathematics) at what was then the Carnegie Institute of Technology. After working for a time for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, he gave up his promising future as an actuary to flee back to academia, attaining the Ph.D. degree (number theory) at the University of Michigan in 1965. After two years at the Ohio State University and thirty-seven at DePauw University (Greencastle, Indiana) he lay down his chalk and eraser and retired to Tallahassee, Florida, never again to grade a calculus test.
He has done quite a bit of editing in his time--the College Mathematics Journal for five years, the Pi Mu Epsilon Journal for three, the Dolciani Mathematical Expositions book series (six years), and the New Mathematical Library book series (three years). As a result he has a complete grasp of the distinction between "that" and "which" (very rare) and the conviction that no writing, including this, should appear before the public before passing through the hands, eyes, and brain of an editor. Take that, bloggers!
He believes that there is no greater achievement of the human intellect than mathematics, and that the study of mathematics provides great benefits, even to people who think that they hate it.
None of his four children or six grandchildren has entered the family business, but that's the way it goes.
