What's with the number #3?

[cidliz2004]

3 parts to human personality child/adult/parent

3 parts to pregnancy 1st trimester 2nd trimester 3rd trimester

3 parts to life birth life death

3 parts to God (Blessed Trinity) Father Son Holy Ghost

3 strikes your out

3 (recognized) forms of matter solid liquid gas

3 places recognized for humanity in some form or another heaven earth hell (or something like it)

3 parts of an atom proton electron neutron

3 integral parts to a family (traditionally) father mother child

3 times past present future

Oh, I forgot 3rd times a charm


There are more, but I cannot think of them right now.

I've just noticed that 3 seems pretty dominant in important things in our lives - is there some explanation for this? Or do I think too much about things like this?

[Dookus]

1. because a lot of them are just made up

there aren't three parts to pregnancy. It's a continuum. We just divide into three because it's approximately 9 months, and 3 gozinta 9.

Life isn't made up of just "birth, life, death". It's birth, infancy, toddlerhood, childhood, adolescence, etc. etc.

There aren't 3 parts to the human personality.

There's no other explanation other than it's a small number that we use a lot, even if arbitrarily.

[Salviati]

5. There are at least 6 types of matter that I can think of...

Solid, Liquid, Gas (though at certain temps and pressures, they are indistinct), plasma, bose-einstein condensate, and quark-gluon plasma.

Plasmas are pretty common, but the last two aren't really seen outside reasearch labs (BEC) and (it's still not sure whether they've actually created a quark-gluon plasma) high energy particle colliders

[cidliz2004]

19. You are more scientific than I am

My last chemistry class taught us that matter came in 3 forms: Gas, Liquid and Solid If there are more than that, then my chemistry class is outdated or basic chemistry as it begins.

[Salviati]

22. However...

3 does play a role deeper in physics. There are 3 generations of particles...

So you get:

electron / electron neutrino
muon / muon neutrino
tau / tau neutrino


and 3 generations of quarks:

up/down
charm/strange
top/bottom


So the number 3 does come into play in fundimental physics, just a bit deeper though...

[NNadir]

23. Here is a diagram of 11 states of water.

http://www.lsbu.ac.uk/water/phase.html

[Salviati]

34. Oh NO! it's ice-9 look out!

One of my friends got his Phd in ice physics...

[cidliz2004]

17. Pregnancy is divided into 3 - 3 TRImesters

Life is to three parts in order for it to exist: birth life death
all of the rest are subparts to each of those top three, mainly coming under life.

There are TO 3 PARTS TO A PERSONALITY: something more take a psychology class to learn about it.

The #3 may be nothing that you would like to admit to, but don't dispute medical and psychological facts.

[Dookus]

28. LOL

there's nothing natural or innate about trimesters. It's a simple, man-made concept based on the fact that a 9 month pregnancy is easily divisible by 3. Nothing special happens at three months or six months.

Same thing for personalities - you're looking at totally man-made distinctions, not natural ones.

[cidliz2004]

43. I'm not saying that there is anything magical about the #3

I am just saying that it is far more common in much of our lives than most other numbers. I ask why is that? It appears as though I am not the only one who has noticed this.

Man made - Sure, but what, in your everyday life, in your education, in your language ISN'T man made? The fact that you are using books, publications, and supposed facts written by HUMANS tells me that it is O.K. for you to use human words to disprove somebodies thoughts and/or observations, but it doesn't seem to be O.K. for that same "somebody" to use same type of knowledge to draw conclusions.

What comes natural, is explained and observed by words.

As far as pregnancy, there are distinctions between the trimesters: For instance a miscarriage is most likely to happen during the first trimester, 1st trimester morning sickness will likely end at the end of the first trimester, the 2nd trimester is the easiest period in a pregnancy, 2nd trimester is when you first are to feel life, the 3rd trimester is when the baby is most viable. Sure nothing fantastic or even 100% accurate, but what in life and all that surrounds it, is 100% accurate.

[kanrok]

2. Here's a discourse on the significance and spirituality of #3

http://www.greatdreams.com/three/three.htm

[cidliz2004]

15. Thanks great site!

[Jamastiene]

3. Some cultures believe 3

is a great number. I think the pyramids were based on some idea of 3 or was it 4? Three isn't so bad. One is very lonely. 2 is nerve wrecking. 3 is pretty good. I like 3. You may have a point there about how many things some in threes. 3 sizes is another one.

[KamaAina]

4. Don't forget Dale Earnhardt (Sr.)'s #3 -- and the cat with #3 fur!

Can't make this stuff up...

http://www.strangezoo.com/content/item/100700.html

DELAND, Fla. -- Dave Albury plays with his cat, Romeo, at his home. David Albury was at home recuperating from surgery several months ago when he noticed the black fur on his cat's back was shaped in the number "3." The fur screamed "Dale Earnhardt" to Albury.

[Sporadicus]

6. 3-in-1 Oil

It
1. Lubricates
2. Prevents rust
3. Cleans

Three tasks accomplished by one product: coincidence? I think not.

[nuxvomica]

7. As soon as you try to define a duality, you've left something out

That which is left out is then defined by it's difference from the duality. That makes three.

[Bunny]

8. Menage a trois.

Coincidence? Hardly...



:D

[montana_hazeleyes]

9. Three blind mice,

three little pigs, three wishes from genie in bottle, parent when they are mad ("Okay,I'm going to count to 3!), three minutes in egg timer etc.

[UrbScotty]

10. Check out this website

www.threes.com

[cidliz2004]

11. Jesus lived for 33 years

[Dookus]

29. that's conjecture

no evidence of that. I've read 30, 32, 33....

[cidliz2004]

32. EVERYTHING that I have learned from several Christian Religions

have said that Jesus traveled and taught for 3 years starting at age 30 and ending at 33. Next I will have to approach the Catholic Priests, Baptist Minister, Non-Denominational Ministers... to let them know of your new findings.

[Dookus]

35. As I said

It's conjecture. There's no evidence Jesus even lived, much less records of how long he lived.

edit: This minister says 33 to possibly 40.

http://members.aol.com/walts9/askthepastor/0274.txt


This religious site says 37-38

http://www.probe.org/docs/e-age_at_death.html

The Quran gives his age as 120:

http://www.muslim.org/islam/deathj-h.htm

Irenaeus gave his age as 50

http://mikeblume.com/revdate.htm

Thanks for making me look it up. The disparity is even greater than I thought.

[cidliz2004]

12. Last Pope was a Pope for 33 days and then died

[cidliz2004]

13. Jesus rose from the dead on the 3rd day

[Dookus]

31. no he didn't

even if he rose at all (which I dispute), the first day was from Friday to Saturday, the second day was Saturday to Sunday. The prophecies were wrong - he was dead for two days.

[cidliz2004]

37. This really comes down to a question of Christianity, which will

never be factually proved one way or the other - to do so would be self defeating.

And for every argument you could come up with to dispute what is generally accepted isn't the point either.

The general beliefs and consensus revolves around the #3, Why?

[Dookus]

39. I can

find a thousand examples of 2 being important, or 4 being important, or zero or 1 or five. So what?

[cidliz2004]

47. You really are bound and determined to kill this thought, aren't you?

Why don't you start by stating some of your observations? Or are you just better at stomping on others ideas?

[Dookus]

51. Kill the thought?

I dare say I couldn't get this thought out of your head with a baseball bat and a juice extractor.

I'm just noting that while lots of things are grouped into threes, there are other numbers, too, that show up a lot in our lives.

[cidliz2004]

52. Your right - a baseball bat AND a juice extractor wouldn't even

begin what has been brewing (and observing) for years.

Lone Pawn has come up with the most acceptable reason and replies though.

[cidliz2004]

14. # Main things in solar system Sun, Planet, Moon

[Lone Pawn]

42. Asteroid, Comet, Oort Belt, Solar Wind.

[cidliz2004]

53. Are they considered main parts of our solar system?

[Dervill Crow]

16. I used to have three letters in each syllable of my name.

Then I married someone with seven letters in his last name, and it screwed up the symmetry. Now my name has four letters in the last syllable, and it damn near drove me crazy. Now that I think about it, it STILL drives me crazy.

:crazy:

[cidliz2004]

18. 3 main religious origins in one area Judaism, Christianity, Muslim

[Lone Pawn]

41. You forget Zoroastrianism.

[cidliz2004]

48. What the Hell is that??????

[Lone Pawn]

50. It's a pretty damn obscure religion

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoroastrianism

I really like to bring it up, because I think it's pretty damn cool.

[khashka]

20. 3 more (plus 1)

the 3 Norns
the 3 Fates
the 3 Furies
and the Triple Goddess

Khash

[Placebo]

21. In Philosophical Terms: Deficiency, Virtue, Excess

Actually, the whole mind can be split up into 3 parts. :)

[koneko]

24. even death

comes in threes, or so they say. . .

[Dookus]

33. actually

hundreds of thousands of people die daily. It's easy to pick any three and call it a grouping, but it ain't.

Two famous people die. Then everybody waits for the next one and says "see? 3!"

But sometimes no other famous person dies for a few days (of course, you can define famous to ensure there's ALWAYS a famous person included)... sometimes 4 or 5 die. Death does not occur in 3s.

[baldguy]

25. Four states of matter

Solid
Liquid
Gas
Plasma

or don't you like fluorescent lights?

[cidliz2004]

26. Basic chemistry: Solid, Liquid, Gas Ask my Chemistry 1 Prof.

Just citing what I learned in H.S. Chemistry and 1st (and only) Year Chemistry in college.

[Lone Pawn]

40. Look, I've taken Physics for three years now.

It's my f*ing major. Believe me, there are more than three. There are three states you're likely to see with terrestrial conditions, but there's quite a world you're missing.

[cidliz2004]

45. I only took what I had to

So what I have learned, which I agree is the very basic, which is all that I am speaking to, is that there are 3.

The rest that come after, from or with those is something that wasn't even mentioned to most of the population that elects not go past basic chem, or physics.

My observation was based on what most of us believe.

It is interesting that you tell me that there are more though, who would have thought. It would be nice if the teachers would say something like, there are -- forms of matter, know that number and know the names of all of them, but for our purposes, we will only discuss 3, Solid, Gas, Liquid. What do you think?

[Lone Pawn]

49. I do agree with you about that

But people do like threes--three sticks easily in the brain. It's an easy, small number for the mind to digest. So I understand why they just skip by that. It would be nice if they had said "there are others, but they're very rare and only appear in extreme situations" though.

[DARE to HOPE]

27. Some Bible numbers to chew on...

3 for things of God

4 for things of humanity

3 plus 4 = 7 (days in a week, means complete, whole)

3 times 4 = 12 (months of the year, tribes of Israel, disciples of Jesus)

7 times 7 = 49 (All those weeks of work add up to Jubilee year in the 50th, where all debts are forgiven)

Easter Season celebrating freedom from death is also 7 times 7 days, or a "week of weeks"

10 means "many" or multiplied, or complete also, as in 10 fingers, 10 Commandments

4 times 10 = 40 (a lifetime, a complete time, 40 years in the desert, 40 days and 40 nights of rain, 40 days praying in the wilderness)

Genesis 10: the table of "70 nations," all nations "known in the world" @500 BC (Priestly)

10 times 10 times 10 = 1000 (REALLY complete, a whole world of people)

12 times 12 times 1000 = 144,000 (God's whole Church, people from the whole world, not a remnant at all)

4 corners of the earth, 4 horsemen of Revelation, all seen as relating to human limitation or sin (war, famine, pestilence, death)

[Lone Pawn]

30. Well, most are all things made up by people.

Anything made up quite simply does not count.

[cidliz2004]

36. In what way and why 3?

Did scientists MAKE UP 3 parts to an atom, or 3 types of matter, or what exists in our Solar System, or a Pregnancy is medically divided into trimesters, 3 parts of our personality from Psyc. don't count? Or how about Jesus rising on the 3rd day? or The Father, Son and Holy Ghost? Does that count? 3 measures of time, Past, Present - Future....doesn't really mean anything?

[Lone Pawn]

38. First of all, there are more than three parts to an atom.

You forget the nest of quarks and gluons that make up each elementary particle.

Next, there are far more than three types of matter. There also exists superfluid, supersolid, degenerate, neutron matter, strongly symmetric, weakly symmetric, and Bose-Einstein condensate, Fermionic condensate, quark-gluon plasma, and potentially quark matter.

The trimesters of pregnancy do not actually exist. There is not a physical difference between the last day of the 2nd and the first day of the 3rd. You might as well be surprised that there are three trimesters in a game of hockey.

Jesus rising on the third day, the Trinity--those are both creations of the human mind. Past, present, and future are as well, as time exists as a dimension in spacetime. You might as well be shocked that "left, right, and center" exists.

Also, the personality types are entirely manufactured by humans. There does not exist, say, a Child Cortex. We made it up because it's a convenient model, and we like threes.

Most of your threes are attributable to the following: You have two opposing states plus nonopposition. For any X, if X>0, then X is in P. If X<0, then X is in -P. If X=0, X is not in P or -P. That's basic mathematics. Numbers are in one of three states. We're fascinated with this idea, and so we attribute it to all sorts of things. Define a duality, and zero is excluded. Bam. Three.

[sasquatch]

44. A triangle has three sides, which is used to build bridges!

[BiggJawn]

46. Earnhardt!!!! Wooo-Hoooooo!

[Seabiscuit]

54. Don't ever light three cigarettes with one match.

It gives the enemy time to locate you.