What’s in a Name: Numenera
A lot of people have been speculating, wondering, or asking what the name “Numenera” means. The answer is complex. To start with, “Numen” is one of my favorite somewhat obscure words. I also like the closely-related “numinous.” It has many different meanings, and all of them play into the game really well. Numen means ”an influence perceptible by mind but not by senses.” More specifically, it relates to “the presence of the divine.” More generally, it relates to anything supernatural.
Numen, a Latin word, also means potential. In some more modern belief systems, Numen refers to a spirit or magical essence within an object. What a great way for someone to look at technology so advanced that it is indistinguishable from magic, as Arthur C. Clarke said.
If we really stretch (and sticklers won’t like me stretching this far), there is also a linguistic connection with “nine,” so it’s not hard to pretend that it refers to “Ninth Era,” or “Ninth World,” which is the name of the setting.
Era, of course, is a long period of time. Usually of fairly arbitrary length, even when it is a specific period (as in “Mesozoic Era”).
So “Numenera” could be thought to mean, “the age of the divine,” which isn’t such a terrible way to describe how humanity in the Ninth World setting would look upon the past. It could also be “the age of potential,” which would be a way to describe the Ninth World itself–a new age of humanity, full of potential. A new beginning.
Era is also close to aera or aero, which of course refers to the air. Numen aera, in Latin, might be translated as “the power in the air,” which is not far from being an important part of the reality of the Ninth World–the dataweb that still exists around the planet (like the Internet, but times a million).
And then, of course, there’s the phonetic aspect to it: New Men Era. Era of the New Men (or rather, new humans).
Specifically, though, in the setting, “the numenera” is a catch-all term for things from the past that pass understanding (things perceived by the mind but not the senses–experienced but not truly understood). Whether it’s a device that nullifies gravity, a bioengineered creature, a cloud of nanobots, a nearly indestructible metal, or something that allows one to see something going on miles away, it’s numenera.
That means, of course, that numenera is both beneficial and dangerous. Sometimes at the same time. Just like magic. Sir Clarke really knew what he was talking about.
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Loving it Monte, keep the teasers coming!
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I am a stickler, and I love it. Like game design, appending names doesn’t have to fit perfectly. It’s more important that it feels right (referencing back to that which is apprehended by the mind, but not by the senses). I suppose if someone doesn’t care what the setting is named, but only needs a way to refer to it, it’s fine. I, for one, love all of the thought that you’ve put into naming this project. Like others, I look forward to my first kickstarter participation on payday.
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I think i’ll finally get what I’ve always wished for in a Campaign, not so much in the technical details, but in overall character. Here’s to high hopes and an open mind.
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Sounds awesome Monte
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So about a half-dozen things in this name. Nice!
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Brilliantly well-thought, Mr. Cook. I especially love the ‘potential’ reference. I love that, regardless of a character’s particular ‘ability’, they can refer to it as whatever they see fit – from a faith healer to a junk-diving tech-monkey. Congratulations on a spectacular game, and congratulations on the kickstarter – will be joining in soon myself. Good Luck as time progresses!
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I like this definition, it tells me a lot of what we should expect.
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When I first read the name, the thought that came to me was “numerics” which made me think that artifacts found in the Ninth Age will be highly cybernetic, very “numeric”, but not quite understood by the natives, so they see it as a kind of magic. Thus a mangling of “numeric” into “numenera”. Having read your explanation, I think I may still use a flavor of mine as a supplement to yours.
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I took it as a reference to the previous numbered “worlds”, so Numenera, would collectively be worlds one through eight, in essence. So anything that was not of this generation is from (hand wave) Numenera. I guess I was confusing “Numerals” with Numen though in that case.
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I backed your Kickstarter project for Numenera.
Your posts and video about the setting and game mechanics had me sold! I think I am going to like the “on the fly” approach to Gamemastering the setting. May the New Men come into transcendent knowledge and glory! -
I will admit that my first thought when I saw it was the ‘Numa Numa’ song. On the bright side, now every time I see it that song pops into my head so there is a very strong association there. It is silly, but at least I’m not likely to forget it soon.
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Just a nit-pick and a little education: You cannot say “Sir Clarke” when talking about Sir Arthur C. Clarke. The correct form of address of a knight is “Sir Arthur”, or “Sir Arthur C. Clarke” but never “Sir Clarke”.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forms_of_address_in_the_United_Kingdom#Knights
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