eleven prime numbers
2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17,19, 23, 29, 31 – this is how many prime numbers i've lived so far. i'm not sure why this was on my mind yesterday, but it probably had something to do with my midday intuition that 2011 was itself a prime number.
the point is that my next one won't come until i'm 37, and it seems that monumental, life-changing events fall with disconcerting regularity at these ages. at 13 my parents divorced, for example, and at 23 i met Nancy.
this isn't to say that all prime numbers are calamitous, though. six years later the next prime arrived, and i left Nancy in what remains my most powerful flash of revelation to date. furthermore, when i was 17 i lost my virginity – actually, it would be more accurate to say i was lucky enough to have it taken from me, but this is also beside the point.
the point is that, at most, i have 18 more prime numbers left in me. this figure is based on the assumption that i will live to be a 122, which is derived by my yin's prediction that i would live to be 132, which was subsequently knocked down 10 years by an unintentional arithmetic error on my part. either scenario is unlikely, of course, and whenever i'm doing something that annoys her i reminded her my scariest ghostlike voice:
if i can defy the wisdom of the oracle and manage to make it 80 more years, though, then i will live to the ripe old age of 113, which is not only a prime number but also ends in my favorite number, 13, which i had tattooed on my wrist when i was 23, also a prime number.
(note: all these 'meaningful' prime numbers may be little more than my penchant for number theory masquerading as numerology and superstition.)
since i turned 29, i've come to recognize prime numbers as a metaphor for the relationship between human individuality and what lies beyond. since primes can be divided only by one and themselves, this makes them both exceedingly rare and infinitely plentiful, and i see this as a beautiful allegory for the human condition:
2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17,19, 23, 29, 31 – this is how many prime numbers i've lived so far. i'm not sure why this was on my mind yesterday, but it probably had something to do with my midday intuition that 2011 was itself a prime number.
it is, but this is beside the point.
the point is that my next one won't come until i'm 37, and it seems that monumental, life-changing events fall with disconcerting regularity at these ages. at 13 my parents divorced, for example, and at 23 i met Nancy.
this isn't to say that all prime numbers are calamitous, though. six years later the next prime arrived, and i left Nancy in what remains my most powerful flash of revelation to date. furthermore, when i was 17 i lost my virginity – actually, it would be more accurate to say i was lucky enough to have it taken from me, but this is also beside the point.
how many prime numbers do you have left?
the point is that, at most, i have 18 more prime numbers left in me. this figure is based on the assumption that i will live to be a 122, which is derived by my yin's prediction that i would live to be 132, which was subsequently knocked down 10 years by an unintentional arithmetic error on my part. either scenario is unlikely, of course, and whenever i'm doing something that annoys her i reminded her my scariest ghostlike voice:
"79 more years!"
if i can defy the wisdom of the oracle and manage to make it 80 more years, though, then i will live to the ripe old age of 113, which is not only a prime number but also ends in my favorite number, 13, which i had tattooed on my wrist when i was 23, also a prime number.
(note: all these 'meaningful' prime numbers may be little more than my penchant for number theory masquerading as numerology and superstition.)
since i turned 29, i've come to recognize prime numbers as a metaphor for the relationship between human individuality and what lies beyond. since primes can be divided only by one and themselves, this makes them both exceedingly rare and infinitely plentiful, and i see this as a beautiful allegory for the human condition:
each of us is unique,
each of is like countless others,
each of us find identity in the divine.
each of is like countless others,
each of us find identity in the divine.
thus concluded the eleventh day of Christmas.
this was beautiful. thank you.
ReplyDeleteI've only lived 8 prime numbers so far. 3 more years till I'm in my next prime!