Arithmancy (was: JKR's priorities ...)

[Elizabeth Dalton]

No: HPFGUIDX 31992

Boggles wrote:

> Sorry, pet peeve (I'm a math teacher) - for all the interesting 
> questions in mathematics, there is no One Right True and Only answer, 
> either.  That only works for arithmetic.  Probably isn't true in 
> Arithmancy, either (veering back to topic, anyone have any wild 
> guesses what goes on in that class?).

I'm so glad you asked. I've been meaning to bring this up sometime soon. I find
all the discussion of the curriculum at Hogwarts to be very intriguing. Probably
because I wish I could teach there. :)

We know very little about Arithmancy, other than that Hermione really likes the
class and respects the professor (Vector). We do have one clue: the name of the
Arithmancy text is "Numerology & Gramatica." (PoA 16 according to the amazing
Lexicon.)

Numerology is the practice of converting names , dates, and other facts into
numerical representations and manipulating them mathematically to find out a
"true number" associated with them. Each number is thought to have certain
properties. (I'm by no means an expert on this, but I think that's the gist of
it.) Here's a sample web page with more information:

http://members.aol.com/AspireA1/index.html

(Strictly speaking, numerology is a form of divination, but evidently the wizard
world differentiates between forms. I'm not sure why this should be the case. I
wouldn't say that numerology requires any more math than astrology would, for
example. Then again, it might be that JKR has something completely different in
mind when she says numerology.)

Gramatica is more obscure. There's something nagging in the back of my mind
about this term. It may be just some of JKR's pseudo-Latin terminology, but
maybe not. But under this spelling the only references I can dig up, online or
in my own references, seem to be to the surname of a football player.

However, under the spelling "grammatica," we get references to the linguistic
field of grammar (syntax). This suggests that this term might refer to the rules
of combining numerological values or finding meaning in the relationships
between numerical values. That's my best guess at her intent, anyway.

What do the rest of you think?

Elizabeth
(who is nearly as skeptical as Hermione regarding the value of most forms of
divination, but likes reading about systems as a hobby)