25 September, 2012

The Mathematical Nature of Fate and Fortune

In this article, I shall attempt to outline some of the more astonishing aspects of the fortune-telling systems that I have studied.

Fate and Fortune follow mathematical laws

Once again, there is entirely no reason for fate and fortune to be describable or predictable mathematically -- they have no reason to be scientific at all.  Isn't it enough for them to be mere superstitions?

However, the fact is that these fortune-telling systems have survived and endured the test of time -- for millennia in some, much longer than many scientific theories.  The fact that there are still many active practitioners using these systems indicates that they may not be mere superstitions, and that predictions generated by these ancient models may actually be correct more times than randomly justifiable.

Many systems following extremely similar laws

Similar as to mathematical constructs; of course the actual terminologies will be vastly different.

This fact is expected if there is one underlying Equation of Fate that all these systems are attempt to model, albeit in different ways.

The Equation of Fate is cyclical

For almost all systems of fortune-telling, the mathematical models are cyclical.

In other words, the phase space trajectories of fortune dynamics are usually limited cycles or tori, and repeats after a certain number of years (e.g. 600 years for Four Pillars and 120 years or 600 years for Ziwei Numbers).  Fate definitions, for the most part, follow the same trajectories, albeit at a different time scale.  Certain systems, such as western astrology, are tied directly with celestial movements and thus completely cyclical.

Now this is an astonishing fact, as there is entirely no necessity for the Equation of Fate to be cyclical.  It can easily take the form of a non-cyclical function and the differences it will make on lives and fortunes may not be altogether apparent.

The fact that fate and fortune follow cyclical mathematical laws is probably the reason behind much of ancient fortune-telling to base their modelling on celestial movements -- which are cyclical, accurate and the best time-keeping pieces in ancient times.  Systems which are not celestial-based may have terms and names based on stars (e.g. Ziwei Numbers), showing a fondness of ancient scholars to equate cyclical natures with celestial phenomena.  Of course, some systems (e.g. Western Astrology) are purely based on celestial movements.

Fate and Fortune follow the same mathematical model

In most of the fortune-telling systems I have studied, the same mathematical equations are used to calculate fate and fortune, although usually the time scales involved are different.

For instance, the Four Pillars equates one month of fate to 10 years of fortune; Ziwei Numbers equates two hours of fate to 10 years of fortune; western astrology use exact times (i.e. the same time scale for fate and fortune).

Once more, this is a shocking fact as there is absolutely no reason why fortune should follow the exact rules as fate, both of them being different things, one of them static and the other dynamic.

I can give a conjecture towards this -- there must be certain deep connections between fate and fortune themselves, perhaps even different manifestations of the same force.  Perhaps the Equation of Fate is fractal and show self-similarity in time scale -- that fortune is merely a longer-time manifestation of a dynamical fate.

And if that is so, and the Equation of Fate is fractal, then why should fate and fortune be predictable at all -- they should all be different depending on how accurate one is to measure the time of birth.  Obviously, for fortune-telling to work, the equation must be stable in time aggregates, but shows self-similarity with regards to time scale.

It is also possible that the Equation of Fate exhibits chaotic properties -- in particular sensitive dependence on initial conditions, causing the life trajectories of two people born minutes apart to diverge more and more through life.  If such is the case, then the phase space trajectory of the Equation of Fate may trend to a strange attractor.

Fate is set at the time of birth

This much is public knowledge.  Nobody, however, seems to appreciate how remarkable this fact is.  Fortune-telling systems across times and cultures, crossing east and west, all base a person's fate upon the exact time of his birth.

What makes the time of birth such a unique measurement point?  Why not the time of conception (although not entirely ruled out)?  Why not a person's weight, complexion, or other physical measurements?  These are still unanswered questions.

Some thing must have flowed, like a constant river, describable with mathematics, that leaves its mark on a person upon the exact moment of time he/she enters the living world.

Another unanswered question is the inconvenient question of time-zones and latitude.  Fortune-telling systems solve this timing issue in different ways, some not at all.

Definition of Fate and Fortune (命運)

In most fortune-telling systems, there are two elements interacting with each other -- which I term "Fate" and "Fortune".  As will be discussed in future articles, it is a strange fact that fate and fortune usually follow the exact same mathematical laws -- something which should not be reasonably expected.

Fate (命)

Something akin to destiny -- it encapsulates a person's nature based on the time of birth, which manifests as fixed natural tendencies with a mathematically-predictable bias throughout that person's life.

Fortune (運)

Tied to the time of birth again, it represents a time-changing force that acts upon a person's fate.  The interactions between fate and fortune creates various influences time, some favorable some unfavorable, towards particular aspects of that person's life.

Whilst a person's fate is unchanged, fortune changes with time -- thus a dynamical system.  The dynamics of fortune are mathematically predictable, so are the interactions between fate and fortune.

A particular note to make is that some fortune-telling systems (e.g. Bagua 八卦 from the I-Ching, Feng Shui etc.) appear to work exclusively on fortune -- Bagua to predict it, Feng Shui to change it respectively.

Introduction

What is this blog about?

In a Nutshell -- a mathematical theory of fate and fortune, based on deconstructing several popular systems of fortune-telling.

I call this blog "The Equation of Fate" for some reason.

My interests in fortune-telling systems arose some time during my colleague years.  Bits and pieces of inspiration from time to time caused me to realize that fate and fortune (two distinct concepts, the distinctions I shall lay out in subsequent articles) are not superstitious ramblings.  Far from it, I am convinced that there lies therein a fundamental system that can be understood scientifically -- and especially mathematically.

In other words, fate and fortune can be understood and even predicted based on mathematical formulas, as in other natural phenomena.  Many fortune-telling systems, diverse in culture, time and distance, in fact share remarkable similarities to each other, almost as if they are crude attempts to formalize aspects of the same theory.  Many methods of calculations in these fortune-telling systems

Now the remarkable aspect of this, at least according to me, is that there is absolutely no reason for fate or fortune to follow natural, scientific and mathematical laws.  There is no reason for it not to be purely superstitious, or for it to be scientific at all.  This by itself is stunning.

Now back to the "Equation of Fate" -- obviously, to find it is my ultimate goal.  To formulate an equation for fate (and fortune) will seal the discipline as a scientific pursuit.  It is not an entirely correct description, however, as there is no reason why fate and fortune should contain only one equation -- there may be a set of equations, or they may not be equations at all (e.g. inequalities).  Nevertheless, the term has a good sound to it.

Why am I writing this blog?

The information in this blog is the result of almost 30 years of research (darn! that would tell people how old I am). I am not getting any younger, and sooner or later, I'd need to put my thoughts, findings and knowledge (piecemeal as they are) to writing so that somebody else can pick up on my work and take it further.

I recently figured that if I don't start doing that, there is always a risk that I might not be able to do it later on -- I may have an accident and die without passing on my knowledge, for instance.  It would be a pity, at least to me, for this knowledge to come to waste.

What are the fortune-telling systems on which you have based your research?

Primarily ancient Chinese ones (for the simple reason that I am Chinese): The I-Ching (易經, The Book of Changes) and its commentaries, The Four Pillars (四柱, or more commonly called 八字, the Eight Letters system), The Ziwei Numbers (紫微斗數), and Feng Shui (玄空風水).  I also throw in Western Astrology (西洋占星術) -- a system which shares remarkable similarities to the Chinese fortune-telling systems I listed above.

Why are you writing in English then???!!!

Considering that most of the fortune-telling systems I've studied are Chinese ones, it does seem strange that I am writing this blog in English.  However, I don't know how to write mathematical terms in Chinese, so any reader must bear with me.

I'll try to have the corresponding Chinese words available where I can.