A Novel Text Analysis Method: Numerals Reveal the Author

Abstract

Two approaches to the statistical analysis of texts are suggested, both based on the study of numerals occurring in literary texts. The first approach is related to the study of the frequency distribution of various leading digits of numerals occurring in the text. This approach is convenient for testing whether a group of texts has common authorship: the latter is dubious if the frequency distributions are sufficiently different. The second approach requires the study of the frequencies of numerals themselves. The approach yields information about the author, stylistic and genre peculiarities of the texts and is suited for advanced study of authorial texts. The hypothesis that I. Ilf and E. Petrov are fake authors of novels "The Twelve Chairs" and "The Little Golden Calf", and they were ghosted by M. Bulgakov, is checked. The frequency distribution of numerals, as well as its cluster analysis, do not confirm this hypothesis.