THE MUSEUM OF NUMBERS

 

In the Museum of Numbers
you are statistically likely
to meet someone you know,
but you never do.

If a man in a field
counts sheep for 3 hours
he will probably fall asleep.
What will the sheep do?

There is a probability that
there is no reliable means
of quantifiying what is
more or less likely,

whether you will
or will not visit.
So what is the problem?
The metaphor of hearsay

works against the nature
of mathematical evidence;
opinion is divided.
Write down your answer now.

Numerology is a type of enquiry,
not a rational system.
Anything can be linked
to anything else,

but what are the chances that
anything makes sense?
It is no secret that you
must write 2,000 words

and submit them to
the office on time
in a specific format
on a particular date.

Work submitted late
will be capped at 40%.
Each submission is worth
half of your final mark.

In the Museum of Numbers
scores are estimated
and catalogued,
calibrated and quantified.

Numbers are sacred here.
We have learnt to count
to ten and sometimes higher,
know there is no end to pi

or the possibilities
of sequences and sets.
These digits are what
your world depends upon.

In the end this line of dots
will be transformed
into neural networks
and numbers on a chart,

in the end there is only
white writing scribbled
on the white page,
zeros and silent song.

Rupert M Loydell
Pic Nick Victor.


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One Response to THE MUSEUM OF NUMBERS

    1. …but you dodge the central issue; do sheep count people when they can’t sleep?

      Comment by Alan Corkish on 17 May, 2022 at 1:06 pm

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