Numerology uses patterns of numbers to form conclusions or, in this case, make predictions. It is not an accepted scientific practice because it does not rely on the scientific method of making observations, which requires formulating a hypothesis and conducting experiments in order to arrive at a well-documented conclusion. In this article, the author bases his future prediction on a handful of patterns he has observed in the lifespans and ruling periods of three other Arab rulers.

The author explains: “Gamal Abdul Nasser was born in 1917 and ruled Egypt for 17 years. He came to power in 1952 and died when he was 52. Hafez al-Assad was born in 1930, and he ruled Syria for 30 years; he ruled the country starting in 1970 and died when he was 70 years old. Muammar Gaddafi was born in 1942 and he ruled Libya for 42 years, starting in 1969. He died when he was 69.”

Based on this anecdotal evidence, the author has supposedly located a pattern wherein the last two digits of these presidents’ years of birth correspond to the number of years that they ruled, and the last two digits of the years in which they came to power corresponds to the age at which the president died.

Thus, the author comes to the conclusion that "Bashar al-Assad was born in 1965, so he will rule Syria for 65 years, and he came to power in 2000, so he will die when he is 100 years-old.”