The Somero born Mauri Antero Numminen already intended to go and study at the University of Helsinki when he was in upper secondary school. Planning a career as an economist, Numminen enrolled at the Faculty of Social Sciences in 1960. As his studies progressed, he applied to the Faculty of Arts and continued to study at both faculties. He had a particular interest in sociolinguistics, and his minors included Finnish and Finno-Ugric languages as wells as folk poetry, ethnology and theoretical philosophy.

When not studying, M.A. Numminen spent time at the café in the Main Building of the University of Helsinki, where a group made up of humanists called the fifth faculty would gather. The fifth faculty was an important seat of learning for Numminen, but by no means the only one. He began his time at the university studying economics—intending to become an economic genius—but soon strayed into philosophy and sociology.

The recording career of M.A. Numminen began when he was still a student. His first self-funded work was recorded in the attic of the Hämäläis-Osakunta student nation. Numminen says that national recognition came as a surprise. Afterwards it is difficult to believe that attention seeking was not the conscious goal of an artist meowing about vulvas and horses. His role as a national provocateur was meant to be temporary.

Mauri Antero Numminen never completed his degree, but it has never much bothered him. Numminen, best known for his musical output, has participated in philosophy seminars in Sweden and at Åbo Akademi University. He also keeps himself abreast of developments in various fields.

As long as a person has dreams, he or she is leading an interesting life.

Mauri Antero Numminen has dealt with the different aspects and genres of his musical career in his writing. He has written on the Tango enthusiast Virtanen in the 1998 novel Tango on intohimoni (‘Tango is my passion’), which also contains a brief history of Finnish tango. At the moment he is working on a jazz-themed book.