On the face of it, it seems mean-spirited to critique that superfluous third “s” in the name of the newly elected Liberal Party leader, Sussan Ley. That is, until you discover she inserted it herself – because of a mystical, pseudoscientific theory. She did so knowing it’d probably cause confusion in pronunciation and spelling, making it more complex than the dour, straightforward spelling she was born with: Susan (it’s pronounced exactly the same).

Sussan Ley: “I worked out that if you added an ‘s’ I would have an incredibly exciting, interesting life and nothing would ever be boring.”Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

This, though, may’ve been the point. In 2015 she told The Australian: “I read about this numerology theory that if you add the numbers that match the letters in your name you can change your personality. I worked out that if you added an ‘s’ I would have an incredibly exciting, interesting life and nothing would ever be boring.”

Numerology is what most people would consider “woo-woo”: a junk-science supernatural belief, alien to science and facts. The theory posits that numbers and corresponding letters have “energy vibrations” that influence your personality, fortune and destiny.

That unnecessary third “s” may come back to haunt Ley now the spotlight is on her, in what it might reveal about her character, credibility and clear-headed........

© Brisbane Times