That bloody number 23 film

[23 Daves]

http://www.number23movie.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/23_%28numerology%29

Bah. It was all very nice to start with, wasn't it?  Some of us had read the "Illuminatus" trilogy, owned a quantity of KLF albums, had read up on the number 23 enigma, and had noticed the peculiar coincidences surrounding that number.  So some of us began larking around, using the number 23 online and talking about it... and lo and behold, look where it's got us.  A blockbuster Hollywood film.

I had the misfortune to see the advert for this on television today, and I was very disappointed to see that part of the plot seems to involve one number 23 obsessed individual nearly getting knocking down by a number 23 bus, which I have already explained on this forum has happened to me in real life.  I was walking along a street once, talking to my friend about the number 23, when I nearly got hit by a number 23 bus.  Is this a coincidence, or a coincidence about a coincidence?  I'm very confused.

To make matters worse, the main character mentions the significance of the date 14 September in the film (14 + 9 = 23) which happens to be my birthday.  I really should sue.

I have to say, things like this bring out the inner snob in me.  I enjoy things being in-jokes, little knowing references you can make and be understood by a certain amount of people.  As soon as the blockbuster Hollywood film comes along, the potency of it and the fun is automatically reduced.

Has anyone else been similarly let down by such a thing?  And more to the point, does anyone have any number 23 stories whilst we're here and talking about it?  (Before anyone lectures me on the topic, I am well aware that occurrences are easily explained away by the laws of statistics amongst other things).

[Brutus Beefcake]

In a way I'm glad as it means there'll be a larger group of twats I can mess with by leaving 23s about.

I remember when I was looking forward to the release of the N64 and how I would notice 64s everywhere.

[rudi]

My cats leave number twos everywhere, and they're black.

Should I be worried?

[Mister Six]

I was born on 23-06-1982.

Six is two plus three, aaah. Eight minus two is six, which is two plus three, aaah. Etc etc.

[Oscar]

Six is two plus three, aaah. Eight minus two is six, which is two plus three, aaah. Etc etc.

Go back to your desk and look at those sums again. I'm ashamed of you Six.

[Mister Six]

I know, I realised that as I clicked send. In my defence I'm awfully tired. And it was 23:10 when I wrote it...

[Catalogue Trousers]

It's the point that the television trailer for this film seems to reckon that the date of Kurt Cobain's death is somehow more staggering proof of a world-shattering "conspiracy". - which is extremely vapid and annoying, for some reason... I think it's just the fact that it feels like this was crow-barred in to appeal to a "yoof" audience.

[rudi]

Were the bullets .23s?

[Brutus Beefcake]

It's the point that the television trailer for this film seems to reckon that the date of Kurt Cobain's death is somehow more staggering proof of a world-shattering "conspiracy".

April 5th 1994?

[Catalogue Trousers]

Yeah, 'cos, you see - 4+5+1+9+9+4 = 32. Which, if you reverse the figures, is 23. It's all so blummen obvious and uncontrived, eh?

[Saygone]

No 23 story but, interestingly, the day after RAW died, there was an episode of Hercules on Ch. 5 which featured an appearance by Eris and her golden apple.  Coincidance?  I think not...

[Marv Orange]

9

[Rev]

Will the sandwich quiz be in the movie?

[The Boston Crab]

At 9 o' clock, 9-9-1999 , I was 19.

Eat that!

[Steve Lampkins]

I was born January 23rd. Bow down before me.


What a load of bollocks.

[mothman]

I knew something was going on when Beckham chose to be No. 23 at Real Madrid!

[Famous Mortimer]

Tis naught but a load of bollocks- some sort of number pareidolia. You can find patterns in all sorts of things- read the hilarious account by Uri Geller of the "astonishing number coincidences" to do with the September 11th stuff.

[Marv Orange]

Tis naught but a load of bollocks- some sort of number pareidolia. You can find patterns in all sorts of things- read the hilarious account by Uri Geller of the "astonishing number coincidences" to do with the September 11th stuff.

If you don't want any more terrorist attacks to occur place your hand against the screen and think positive, PMA, PMA.

[Saygone]

Tis naught but a load of bollocks- some sort of number pareidolia.

That's a bit paradoxical.  The whole point of noticing the phenomenon is to call attention to the way the mind works (not pareidolia but confirmation bias).  
Also nobody is claiming the number 23 to be some sort of god dishing itself out onto our mind-plates.   Mostly people are just noticing coincidence and then applying meaning to it.  Something which is behind a lot of magical thinking and RAW co-opted the 23 meme (I hate the term but it applies here) in order to show this methinks.  

A member of the audience approached RAW after one of his lectures and said
"Aha!  I know how your 23 trick works.  You get people to re-draw their neural maps by bringing undue attention to that number."

Raw replied "Well done, you now know the answer to the ancient Zen koan "who is the magician that makes the grass green?""

They continued talking and, engrossed in conversation, moved on to a restaurant.   They were called to their table, sat down and ordered coffee, and while they were waiting, noticed, with some horror, its number:  23

"How do you do that!" the disciple exclaimed.
"I thought you did it that time" RAW replied.

http://hvattum.net/wp/?p=3

[Famous Mortimer]

But the whole point in noticing one number, is you don't notice the hundreds and thousands of other numbers you encounter in your daily life that have sod all to do with 23. Surely? There's no meaning to occasionally noticing a certain number among a whole bunch of other numbers, other than you can train your brain to notice 23s (or 7s, or 69s, or whatever).

And I have no idea who "RAW" is, sorry.

[Mister Six]

No 23 story but, interestingly, the day after RAW died, there was an episode of Hercules on Ch. 5 which featured an appearance by Eris and her golden apple.  Coincidance?  I think not...

And five is two plus three, ahhh.

And I have no idea who "RAW" is, sorry.

Robert Anton Wilson, writer of the Illuminatus! Trilogy and the guy who basically popularised the 23 thing.

[Catalogue Trousers]

Famous Mortimer - RAW=Robert Anton Wilson. Thus:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Anton_Wilson

[samadriel]

If you don't want any more terrorist attacks to occur place your hand against the screen and think positive, PMA, PMA.

But, the fingerprints!  I'd prefer the attacks, frankly.

[Saygone]

But the whole point in noticing one number, is you don't notice the hundreds and thousands of other numbers you encounter in your daily life that have sod all to do with 23. Surely? There's no meaning to occasionally noticing a certain number among a whole bunch of other numbers, other than you can train your brain to notice 23s (or 7s, or 69s, or whatever).

The whole point of noticing the phenomenon is to call attention to the way the mind works (not pareidolia but confirmation bias[/i]).

Mostly people are just noticing coincidence and then applying meaning to it.

[/b]

[Klem]

Yeah, 'cos, you see - 4+5+1+9+9+4 = 32. Which, if you reverse the figures, is 23. It's all so blummen obvious and uncontrived, eh?

Ted Rogers would be proud.

[Gamma Ray]

Some say that William S. Burroughs first noticed the 23 enigma. Maybe DH Wilson knows, but if he does he's not saying.

Then again, it may just be some kind of joke.

[Eis Nein]

So, it doesn't feature Ethel, then?

[Brutus Beefcake]

http://hvattum.net/wp/?p=3

Spoiler alert

I saw it.

[close]

[Dusty Gozongas]

I had a feeling this thread would turn out as it has thus far.