[seqfan] Re: Meanwhile, something fringe...

[Alonso Del Arte]

I don't pretend to have the ability to predict what sequences will have
value to other researchers in the future. As it turns out, neither does
Neil, even though probably most of us would take his predictions on the
matter more seriously than our own.

Sure, I groan when I see a sequence the computation of which needs another
sequence of 65 values to be hard-coded and then input into a very
complicated-looking formula. But I can't state to a mathematical certainty
that no other researcher will find value in such a sequence, even if the
whole theory that motivated it in the first place is completely debunked and
replaced with a far simpler formula.

Al

On Sat, Nov 21, 2009 at 4:04 PM, William Keith <wjk26 at drexel.edu> wrote:

> I would argue strongly against the inclusion of sequences or number
> patterns from numerological sources.  The OEIS exists to bring at least some
> rigor to the human tendency to see patterns in short sequences; mystical and
> crank mathematics, Pythagorean not excepted, is nothing more than this
> pareidolia given the status of serious math.
>
> Right now, OEIS word searches give:
>
> "numerology": 5 hits, of which 3 are from a journal article title talking
> about heuristics for Monster, 1 from a book on Pythagoras, and only 1 of
> which is a short sequence originating in numerology.
> "Kabbalah": two hits on quite trivial sequences, from the title of a book
> in which they appear.
> "Astrology": 1 hit from the title of a Doron Zeilberger article with
> historical context.
> "Bible": 1 hit, a count of the letters in the n-th word of the KJV.
>  Perhaps useful for puzzle-solving.
>
> The last thing we need is for an academic reference to become polluted with
> random sequences giving false positives on searches after being uploaded
> because some crank thought they spelled out the name of next century's God.
>
> William Keith
>
>
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