The 23 enigma is a belief in the significance of the number 23. The concept of the 23 enigma has been popularized by various books, movies, and conspiracy theories, which suggest that the number 23 appears with unusual frequency in various contexts and may be a symbol of some larger, hidden significance.

Origins

Robert Anton Wilson Robert Anton Wilson (born Robert Edward Wilson; January 18, 1932 – January 11, 2007) was an American writer, futurist, psychologist, and self-described agnostic mystic. Recognized within Discordianism as an Episkopos, pope and saint, Wilson ...

cites

William S. Burroughs William Seward Burroughs II (; February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American writer and visual artist. He is widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major Postmodern literature, postmodern author who influen ...

as the first person to believe in the 23 enigma. Wilson, in a 1977 article in ''

Fortean Times ''Fortean Times'' is a British monthly magazine devoted to the anomalous phenomena popularised by Charles Fort. Previously published by John Brown Publishing (from 1991 to 2001), I Feel Good Publishing (from 2001 to 2005), Dennis Publishing (from ...

'', related the following anecdote:

In literature

The 23 enigma can be seen in: *

and

Robert Shea Robert Joseph Shea (February 14, 1933 – March 10, 1994) was an American novelist and former journalist best known as co-author with Robert Anton Wilson of the science fantasy trilogy '' Illuminatus!'' It became a cult success and was later turn ...

's 1975 book ''

The Illuminatus! Trilogy ''The Illuminatus! Trilogy'' is a series of three novels by American writers Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson, first published in 1975.''Illuminatus!'' was written between 1969 and 1971, but not published until 1975 according to Robert Anto ...

'' (therein called the "23/17 Phenomenon") * Wilson's 1977 book '' Cosmic Trigger I: The Final Secret of the Illuminati'' (therein called "the Law of Fives" or "the 23 Enigma") *

Arthur Koestler Arthur Koestler (, ; ; ; 5 September 1905 – 1 March 1983) was an Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian-born author and journalist. Koestler was born in Budapest, and was educated in Austria, apart from his early school years. In 1931, Koestler j ...

's contribution to ''The Challenge of Chance: A Mass Experiment in Telepathy and Its Unexpected Outcome'' (1973) * ''

Principia Discordia The ''Principia Discordia'' is the first published Discordianism, Discordian religious text. It was written by Greg Hill (Malaclypse the Younger) with Kerry Wendell Thornley (Lord Omar Khayyam Ravenhurst) and others. The first edition was printed ...

'' The text titled ''Principia Discordia'' claims that "All things happen in fives, or are divisible by or are multiples of five, or are somehow directly or indirectly appropriate to 5"—this is referred to as the Law of Fives. The 23 enigma is regarded as a

corollary In mathematics and logic, a corollary ( , ) is a theorem of less importance which can be readily deduced from a previous, more notable statement. A corollary could, for instance, be a proposition which is incidentally proved while proving another ...

of the Law of Fives because 2 + 3 = 5. In these works, 23 is considered lucky, unlucky, sinister, strange, sacred to the goddess Eris, or sacred to the unholy gods of the

Cthulhu Mythos The Cthulhu Mythos is a mythopoeia and a shared fictional universe, originating in the works of American Horror fiction, horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. The term was coined by August Derleth, a contemporary correspondent and protégé of Lovecraft, t ...

. The 23 enigma can be viewed as an example of

apophenia Apophenia () is the tendency to perceive meaningful connections between unrelated things. The term ( from the ) was coined by psychiatrist Klaus Conrad in his 1958 publication on the beginning stages of schizophrenia. He defined it as "unmot ...

selection bias Selection bias is the bias introduced by the selection of individuals, groups, or data for analysis in such a way that proper randomization is not achieved, thereby failing to ensure that the sample obtained is representative of the population inte ...

and

confirmation bias Confirmation bias (also confirmatory bias, myside bias, or congeniality bias) is the tendency to search for, interpret, favor and recall information in a way that confirms or supports one's prior beliefs or Value (ethics and social sciences), val ...

. In interviews, Wilson acknowledged the self-fulfilling nature of the 23 enigma, implying that the real value of the Law of Fives and the 23 enigma is in their demonstration of the mind's ability to perceive "truth" in nearly anything. In the ''Illuminatus! Trilogy'', Wilson expresses the same view, saying that one can find numerological significance in anything, provided that one has "sufficient cleverness".

In popular culture

Music and art duo

The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu The KLF (also known as the Justified Ancients of Mu Mu, the JAMs, the Timelords and other names) are a British electronic band who originated in Liverpool and London in the late 1980s. Scottish people, Scottish musician Bill Drummond (alias Ki ...

(later known as The KLF and the

K Foundation The K Foundation was an art foundation set up by Jimmy Cauty and Bill Drummond, formerly of The KLF, in 1993, following their 'retirement' from the music industry. The Foundation served as an artistic outlet for the duo's post-retirement KLF inc ...

) named themselves after the fictional conspiratorial group "The Justified Ancients of Mummu" from ''Illuminatus!''; the number 23 is a recurring theme in the duo's work. Perhaps most infamously, as the K Foundation they performed a performance art piece, '' K Foundation Burn a Million Quid'' on 23 August 1994 and subsequently agreed not to publicly discuss the burning for a period of 23 years. 23 years to the day after the burning they returned to launch a novel and discuss why they had burnt the money. The number 23, as well as the numbers 4, 8, 15, 16, and 42, serve as motifs in the television series Lost. Series co-creator Damon Lindelof has suggested that the choice of using the number 23 stems from the ''Illuminatus! Trilogy.'' The 2007 film '' The Number 23'', starring

Jim Carrey James Eugene Carrey (; born January 17, 1962) is a Canadian and American actor and comedian. Known primarily for his energetic slapstick performances, he has received two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for BAFTA Awards and ...

, is the story of a man who becomes obsessed with the number 23 while reading a book of the same title that seems to be about his life. Industrial music group

Throbbing Gristle Throbbing Gristle were an English music and visual arts group formed in Kingston upon Hull by Genesis P-Orridge and Cosey Fanni Tutti, later joined by Peter "Sleazy" Christopherson and Chris Carter. They are widely regarded as pioneers of in ...

recounted in great detail the meeting of Burroughs and Captain Clark and the significance of the number 23 in the ballad "The Old Man Smiled". Their 1980 album '' Heathen Earth'', where this song appears, also features the number 23 on the cover. The plot of

tactical shooter A tactical shooter is a Video game genre, sub-genre of First-person shooter, first- and third-person shooters, associated with using strategy, planning, and Military tactics, tactics in gameplay, as well as the realistic simulations of ballisti ...

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

'' Sniper Ghost Warrior 3'' revolves around stopping a shadowy organization called ''The 23 Society'' looking to gain power and influence.

References

External links

* {{Robert Anton Wilson Numerology Robert Anton Wilson Superstitions about numbers William S. Burroughs

Origins

In literature

In popular culture

See also

References

External links