Fear Of Numbers

I know for a fact that some of my friends and family have a deep fear of certain numbers.

666 is considered to be the "number of the devil" and hence people seem to be afraid of it. Would you want to live on 666 Whatever Street? No, you probably wouldn't. But why not?

Some people take it a step further, being reluctant to live in 6 Whatever Street either.

There's also the fear of the number 13 (I believe it even had a long technical "-phobia" term) which I've never understood. Fear of 666, devil, sure. But what's wrong with 13? It's just a funny-looking prime number.

In Chinese culture, there's a fear of the number 4, because it is pronounced similarly to the word "die" (as in death). This is similar to the fear of 6 or 666.

Aren't these superstitions a huge practicality problem? Sometimes, it's taken too far. Some buildings don't have a 13th floor (or 6th or 4th) because of these superstitions. Why do we continue to fear these numbers? Is it because of some sort of social stigma, like the sleaziness that surrounds the number 69?

On a related note - we have numbers we seem to see as "good" as well, like the number 7 (supposedly lucky) and even 42 (the meaning of life, the universe, and everything according to "The Hitchhicker's Guide To The Galaxy" by Douglas Adams).

 

 

 

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well i think it is a little bit fun having these superstitions. 666 and that stuff. but i don't actually believe in it. but still i wouldn't live in a house 666 Whatever street. most people don't belive in ghosts but they are still scared by horror movies. we don't believe it but in the back of our brain we say: i still don't want to take that "risk" of living in 666 whatever street or having anything to do with 666.

i have watched a lot of horror movies and i love them. and without superstitions things would be boring wouldn't they?

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i think the fear of numbers has to do with our acient civilation and fear that has been passed out;; similar to the whole 2012 wold ending theory, etc. in my opinion they are just numbers..


and how can a building not have certain levels? haha no matter what they name them, they are still the same floor number;;

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Well its not the numbers themselves but how they are interpreted as and that is in the form of letters and words or a combination of things like October 10th, 1010 at 10:10 AM or 10:10 PM and if you ever saw that Jim Carey Movie the Number 23 you have an idea how some people get about numbers. Of course, as to how this insanity with the fear of numbers begins in a person development is a mystery to me but it is obvious that it is very unhealthy when someone becomes like this.

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Yes.....In my opinion also, numbers are just numbers...They have nothing to do with the fate or something of a person. For example some unlucky numbers(?) in western countries are lucky numbers in our culture(India). What does it mean? Will the person's fate change when he go to another country? So I don't believe in these superstitions.

But some coincidences with numbers will happen in our life. For me it is 23. It is my birthdate(june 23). It was my graduation roll number, my mobile number ...even at trap17 its my membership number(66523) and in many more cases.....That is very fun for me. Of course its just coincidence.

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It's because Judas was the 13th disciple at the Last Supper (as in he was the last person to sit at the table). This turned into a superstition that if you have a table with 13 diners, one would die. In time people ended up believing 13 was unlucky generally.

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Well you guys are bringing up the numbers that are based on supersititions, but there are others as well, like "187" I think it is - the Chinese mafia. I'm not completely sure if that's the right number but it's close,

I don't really have a 'fear' of numbers, and generally am not even aware of them. To me they're just numbers.

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Lol, speaking about this, my number is xxx-666-xxxx
I dont see any bad luck or anything.

But about the number 13.. Some buildings may skip from 12-14 and skip 13 because of some dumb superstition. Thats just ridiculous. Whats gonna happen? Its not like the whole floor would disappear or fall or collapse or anything.

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I fear numbers in math class, becides that I do not really think about it a lot. Well maybe I do but it is not like I do it on purpose. I always stop the microwave when it is 5 seconds left, or anything else that contain the number 5. I dislike the 6 - 7 - 8 numbers. I think 8 is an evil number, and I feel sorry for number 9 (do not know why), and as I feel sorry for it I try to be nice to it so I like it. Haha, I am weird yes I know. I do not like number 4 either, and 1 & 2 are kind of hard so I do not know about them.

When I used to play handball I was number 12, that kind of sucked. Maybe that is the reason I always missed the penalties and never really managed to do anything at all?

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I personally feel you get what you believe in.

If you let a fear take control of your mind - it will affect you in a manner you perceive.

If you convince your mind that 666 might be a beneficial number to you - it very well might actually work out in your favour. But surely it will not make a devil supporter or a evil doer. It is out actions purely that determine what we are and who we are like. Numbers have little or no contribution to them besides giving us math and statistics.

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