Much has been said about life being a stage or a movie where people seem to be moving under the direction of an unseen hand, or even a classroom filled with lessons that have to be learned. It has been compared to a puzzle, a song and a boxing ring. But life is a numbers game, too — some figures are fixed and cannot be changed while others can be altered to gain a winning stance.

February the month of hearts, numbers can be consulted to make romantic decisions. To many people, hearts and numbers may not seem to have a common denominator. But a careful study of the field of numerology will tell you how to use numbers to win hearts.

The science of physics now tells us that everything in the universe is energy vibrating at varied frequencies. Just like a radio station that transmits at a specific frequency, each person, animal, plant, object, place and planet emits different vibrations that cannot be seen by the naked eye.

The day, month and year you were born as well as your recorded name at birth have direct influence on your life too. Each letter corresponds to a certain number and each number has its own significance and vibration. “The science of numerology tells you how adjust to the things that cannot be changed, or, by making the changes within your power, attract to yourself the situations, people and events that will best help you,” writes Korra Deaver, Ph.D., author of The Master Numbers in Numerology.

It started only in March 2003 but the popular social-networking service has been expanding exponentially at a rate of 20% a week. Friendster.com absorbs real-life social groups into a large virtual network and helps users find dates and new friends by referring people to others in their network.

When you sign up, you post your photo and write something about yourself. Then you give a list of your friends and their e-mail addresses. Friendster contacts these people to join your network and when they sign up, they’re asked to confirm their relationship with you. This gains them access to your other friends and the friends of your friends, and the friends of your friends’ friends, and so on.

Danah Boyd, a U.C. Berkeley Ph.D. student researching online social networks, said Friendster is beginning to have an “unbelievable impact” on its target demographic, urban-dwelling 25- to 35- year-olds. It’s so popular that the word “friendster” has come to mean a person that someone meets or knows through the network.