The application of quantitative methods as a research tool in the history of the exact sciences in recent decades has been powerful, tempting, and fraught with danger. Given their structure, historical numerical tables provide a proving ground for quantitative analysis and a potential for insights concerning historical treatises, authors, and users; but these methods may be applied only extreme caution and vigilance. We shall survey attempts to “crack” historical numerical tables, attempting to classify the various goals of researchers, elucidating their methods, and exploring the historiographic implications. This paper represents joint work with Clemency Montelle, Matthieu Husson, and David Bellhouse, and is part of the “Histoire des Table Numériques” project.