Threesology Research Journal: The Scientification of Philosophy by way of a Threes Model
A Study of the Threes Phenomena
(Does it lead to a Scientification of Philosophy?)
Homepage section I



Three Women Speaking Up
3 Women Speaking up!
Depression Era in the U.S.

This site is about ideas, activities, and assorted occurrences which express some model of a "three-pattern," all of which is sometimes referred to as the "Threes phenomena". And yes, I am aware of other patterns. And no, I am not interested in using the 3s idea to promote any religion, racial, or particular philosophical review other than that which I am ascribing at the moment related to an incremental deterioration of the Sun- Earth- Moon triplex. Different people approach their own threes-related research from their individual interests, though some who utilize a "threes" orientation are not necessarily even aware they are engaging in a perspective of thinking which has a wider berth of application and presence in our lives. I provide three examples of others engaged in some aspect of the "threes" phenomena before introducing a short list I have compiled. I will add a few more from "time to time... as time" permits.


Book of Three logo for Mickael Eck's site of threes ideas



Book of Threes

Hegel and the Trinity

C.S. Peirce: Triadism



Mathias Sager's Tripartite World Psychology and Art
A Tripartite World
Three teeth is the dominant recurrence
Brian Swimme, The Third Story
The Third Story



Flag Counter
Progressive Thinkers as of 1/4/2023

An example of threes illustrated In Psychology
Persistent Dichotomies pg 1

With respect to the 3rd molars (aka the wisdom teeth), it appears that they were of great value in ancestral primate forms for chewing tougher foods, but that there has been a trend for their absence {agenesis of the 3rd molar} and routine removal or that they fall out on their own. Philosophically/metaphysically speaking the "loss or absence of the third" can be viewed in terms of absorption as well. In other words, a 3rd idea that fuses with another is lost to perception for those unable to recognize that a fusion has taken place. For example... if the 3 moments/phases of the Sun [dawn- noon- dusk] have influenced multiple genetic, physiological and psychological patterns-of-three {such as the Christian Trinity from its Pagan past of solar worship}, the ongoing degradation of the Sun along a path of enlargement will cause the three moments/phases to "fuse" together; [coupled with the slowing rate of the Earth's rotation]. As a further correlation, the fact that the 3rd molars erupt in the human mouth between the ages of 20 and 23, this time period can be viewed as hours and correlated with the genesis of pre-humans when they began their trek when the rotation rate of the Earth was faster. While many a cook knows that the rotation of a blender has an effect on what they are developmentally preparing; this simple idea does not sink into the formative brain cells of scientists, even though they may use a centrifuge and set it at different speeds. Why do intelligent people often act as educated idiots?


Earth's Rotation Rate correlated to life's Development
Example of rotation rate specificities and life's development

(You will not find this idea on any conventional geologic time scale mainly because no one thought of it.)

Note: I have had a few people try to discount the "threes" idea by citing the Seven Dwarves of Sleeping Beauty fame. In other instances I come across those who compile a list by entitling it with the word "types" displaying more than three items, but if one uses the word "categories", a three listing may be found and express a point of view that has not been considered. As for the Seven Dwarves, if one looks closely at the following image, we see 3 three categories of Dwarves with respect to facial hair:

  1. 3 Dwarves have long beards-
  2. 3 Dwarves have short beards-
  3. 1 Dwarf has no beard.

In Addition: 3 with large noses, 3 (easily seen) shouldering picks, 3 with closed mouths; the typical cartoonish 3 fingers and 1 thumb. It is of some interest to note that while studying Fairy tales, the Threes Theme is taught but not the 3-to-1 ratio. (For example, Goldilocks and 3 bears, Old King Cole and his fiddlers three, three little pigs and the wolf, etc...)


3 Categories of the Seven dwarves

In other words, was the artist guided by an unrecognized "three" theme in their illustration? No less, one must wonder how often this occurs in other subjects whose lists perforce to express more than three types, kinds, etc...


For those who think the content is too small to read

A short and much abbreviated timeline on threes development

Steroidal Tree examples

*"8" was previously used for the mono-nucleotide reference in the above triplet code sequence of evolution instead of the conventional "4" to suggest evolution in the biological sense may not have begun until some rudimentary singularity, pairing or triplicity had taken place. The conventional "4 -16 - 64" idea is based on the present day usage of 20 amino acids (as a model of mathematical logic) which may not have existed in the deep past. Only a triplet code satisfies the present day usage of the 20. Singlet and doublet codes are too small, but may not have been so for life's fledgling stages in terms of biological functionality.

Due to design and operation of the Wankel engine, I have referred to it as having 3 strokes, though other (I will assume out of mimicry), are inclined to repeat the disposed notion of it having four strokes like a "normal/regular" engine.


Separate lists for multiple threes occurrences

Here's a small collection of T-shirts exhibiting a 3-patterned sloga. And yes, I know there are T-shirts with shorter and longer slogans, which... if this is the model of Catergorization we use, we have a Less than three- More than three- Exactly three.


Examples of shirts with a three-patterned slogan

I can't tell you how many times I have gone into stores to purchase this or that tool, all the while observing the different types of sets, one of which is the triple-tool set. You can purchase single-item tools, sometimes two tools such as hammers, pliers, etc., and three-item tool sets. While there are 4 and more quantity sets, I will place all of them into a single category which provides us with a similar cognitive usage found in other subjects. For example, when we look at religion we see the idea of "one" expressed in the concept of a single god or Monotheism. In the past we can pay witness to divine couples or pairs (complimentary or antagonistic to one another). There are of course numerous examples of three in the form of trinities, triunes and triads. After which we encounter the notion of multiple gods variously described as polytheism, pantheon, multiplicity, etc... And yes, there is overlapping, regression as well as mixing and matching, but the underlying counting theme remains and appears to be cyclical. It's a wonder to me why people buy into the idea of a single god when there could be multiple entities just as easily. Then again, if we adhere to science such as particle physics, the idea of three families of fundamental particles would appear to be an example of an idea to support a similar philosophical approach to combat the Egotistically produced Monotheism.


Tool sets in groups of three

In the foregoing list of threes from Dante's Inferno (a list submitted by Richard Williams), the authors of the list also make reference to a "3 plus 1" pattern which is another way of saying a 3 -to- 1 ratio. Here are the examples they provide:


...Another interesting formula of note in the Inferno is the three-plus-one equation. Three saints plus Virgil are introduced in Canto II of the poem, three monsters plus one are encountered before Dis, nine plus one pouches compose the geography of Malebolge, sins of Betrayal contain four sub-categories, and thirty-three plus one cantos make up the work itself. This is perhaps because there are three components to the Holy Trinity and one overarching Unity.

This Trinity itself provides one possible reason for each of the poems threes: Dante, obviously, wrote the Comedia as a deeply Christian work, and would have understood three to be a deeply theological number. Each of the tertiary structures in his poem can therefore be rationalized as a miniature religious reference to itself, and it makes a sort of logical sense that a poem that itself can be viewed as a reworking of the Bible would be composed so neatly and so fully out of the number three.

One of the problems with claiming that a list of threes in a religious context "naturally and logically" refers to a given religious orientation is that no one addresses the issue of why the value of "three" was adopted by many Christians, and in particular, the drafters of the Bible. Were they conscious of their use of a "three" theme as are many present day writers and speakers in their respective genres, or unconscious of such a usage? Then again, why did the value of "3" come to usurp the value of "7" or the value of "2" with its multiple identities such as divine pairs, antagonistic pairs, dichotomies, dualities, hermaphroditic, etc? No less, why do so many people buy into the idea there is only 1 god? How in the world do you know? Is it because the three born-in-the-desert Jews, Islam, or Christianity claim this is the case? Why did the idea of a 1 god come to usurp the past ideas of a divine pair, a trinity, or pantheon, and yet such ideas still exist in small enclaves? And why does the human mind only cycle through a limited array of ideological concerns relative to the quantity of a supreme entity?

The cycle appears to involve 3 overall orientations which can overlap, leap-frog, be intermittent, be "punctuated" involving the various human concerns such as anthropological, biological, psychological, sociological (ie. political, economic, religious... etc.):

  1. Ideas of singularity such as a single god or a singularly chosen people, or singularly chosen place, etc.
    • The idea of "Nothingness" or "non-duality" can be viewed as single ideas, even if they involve multiplicity.
  2. Ideas of duality variously described as dichotomies, pairs, antagonisms, twoness, etc.
  3. Ideas of triplicity (or expressed as a multiplicity) such as triads, trinities, triunes, triples, ternary, etc.,
    • Ideas of multiplicity (which may or may not include three), such as a quadrivium, pantheon, plurality, etc.

A few examples from the field of pumps and related mechanical operations.

Why only a handful of number patterns and why is the "3" so very prominent if it is not due to an environmental influence signaling an incremental course of degradation? The "1", alternatively described as a singularity, signals that the human mind is adopting the necessary rationale as a survival mechanism... as the environment's resources continue to deplete. In other words, the ideas being espoused by different religions express a rationalized survival approach to the 3 disintegrations of the Sun, Earth and Moon. (The Sun is burning out, the Earth's rotation is slowing, the Moon is receding.) Yes, I fully realize you can find other number patterns, but if you look closely at those observed number patterns you might come to realize they are a recurrence of small numbers, and that if and when you decide to make a list, you will find some number patterns have a greater frequency of occurrence in different contexts, but may be wholly absent in other subject areas. This is an important point to make. It is not that we can't find larger number patterns, but we are not using them on a consistent basis. In all our subjects there is a recurrence of only a few patterns, including those involving Natural phenomena. Nature, at least from a human perspective, focuses in on only a few patterns as indicated by the ideas being generated in biology, physics, anatomy, etc...

Here's a larger list of the "3 -to- 1 ratios" that in the realm of Mathematics might be referred to as "Quaternion's". While a 3 -to- 1 ratio has been acknowledged as occurring in some instances (such as Mendelian genetics), a larger appreciation in multiple other areas of cognitive activity needs to be appreciated. The pattern appears to me to be a representation of the effects of the Sun's three moments (phases: dawn- noon- dusk) on a path towards a fusion as the Earth continues to slow and the Sun enlarges. In other words the pattern is a symbol of a biologically influential environmental event taking place. Similar to the idea in Christianity where it is noted that the Trinity is sometimes referred to as a 3 persons -in- 1 godhead. In other words, this expression illustrates the idea of an eventual fusion to take place with multiple other 3 -to- 1 ratio ideas. While such a cognitive behavior is easily seen in our time period, this may not be the case for future circumstances where 3 -to- 1 ideas are generated as composites. However, one need not be obsessed with using the word "to" since alternatives can be seen. For example, we might say 3 -in- 1 or 3 -with- 1 or 3 -from- 1 or 3 next to 1, or 3 times 1 or s minus 1 or 3 plus 1, or 3 -instead of- 1 or some flip-flopped variation such as the E Pluribus Unum expression denoting an "Out of Many, one"... where the word "many" is an old counting reference to the value of "3" as seen in the expression "One- two- Many", giving us three number words for humanity's early efforts at counting.


A few examples of the 3 to 1 rato pattern



In this section, let me begin by providing you with a few examples of the "threes" phenomena being associated with Natural events. And the information on the chart to the right is culled from Dr. McNulty's "Threes in Human Anatomy". For those wanting the chart, I provide this link to the Anatomy chart.pdf

This image is a link to a pdf containing this anatomy chart
Examples of patterns-of-three in Nature
Nature Seems To Love The Number Three by Mark Mahin

Here is a PDF of a list put together by: Scott Anfield. His accompanying commentary can be read at Mike Eck's site: On the Nature of the Universe.


Let me add a few threes-related examples from different perspectives of language. While some readers may have seen a few of them before, they did not make an active mental note of them into a singular compilation. If they had done so, and had done so for other subjects, then the recurring usage of a "three-patterned" cognitive theme might stick out in their consciousness. Here is the most recent compilation which includes a reference to recurring patterns-of-three in hear, since hearing plays such an important role in verbal language:


Examples of 3 part structures related to writing and language

The fact that we are using but a very few number patterns is significant. It also is significant to note that, despite the fact that it is Universally recognized by all Linguists that the ability to hear is of monumental importance for the usage of words, not a single Linguist in the history of the Subject has ever looked at the repeating "3" pattern associated with hearing and made any connection whatsoever to the frequency of 3s usage in speech. This is astonishing that so many intelligent people have collectively overlooked this phenomena in their research. And because I am not in their Academic club, my reference to the presence of a recurring "3" pattern is dismissed as being irrelevant... because someone in their group didn't think of it.


Vowels and consonants can be considered to be the segments of which speech is composed. Together they form syllables, which in turn make up utterances. Superimposed on the syllables there are other features that are known as suprasegmentals. These include variations in stress (accent) and pitch (tone and intonation). Variations in length are also usually considered to be suprasegmental features, although they can affect single segments as well as whole syllables. All of the suprasegmental features are characterized by the fact that they must be described in relation to other items in the same utterance. It is the relative values of the pitch, length, or degree of stress of an item that are significant. (Suprasegmentals)


You might be a reader who wants to rush in and claim you can find this and that article which presents a different quantity of items, and yet you do not also stop to look at the overall Conservation of Number EVERYBODY is using. In other words, we don't routinely come across researchers using (for example) 17 or 54 or 183 parts to describe fundamentals of language in speech or writing. Every single research focus references only a small quantity of items justified by some notion of inherent conservancy, even if this word, this idea... is not part of the usual linguistic vocabulary you encounter.

Here is an example of a geometric Linear- Circular- Triangular pattern-of-three expression occurring in the development of writing:


In the early period (writing) tablets there is a clear difference between the sharp tool used to draw the curviform lines of the pictographs and whatever was used to make the round holes for numbers that sought to imitate the original look of pressing counting stones into clay. By the Uruk III period we can see that they had developed different sized styluses with round cross sections for making number impressions. There was a gradual transition from the "umbin" as a pointed scratching instrument for writing pictographs to the "gi-dub-ba" reed stylus with a triangular head for making lines and wedges, which happened when writing transitioned from pictographic proto-cuneiform to abstract cuneiform by the time of the archaic Ur and Fara period tablets in the early third millennium. Several centuries after the invention of proto-cuneiform, the Sumerian scribe adopted what became the standard stylus with one end cut to make wedge marks and the other end rounded for making number signs. The appearance of the pictographs transitioned from being drawn with roundish natural-looking lines to being drawn with straight lines and then to the abstract conventions of the wedge-shaped cuneiform sign repertoire.

(Karl) Menninger traces the words for writing in many languages back to words for carving, cutting, or scratching. Furthermore, in bound collections of notched tally sticks or tablets of beech wood he sees the ancestor of the modern buch or book. He also convincingly traces the basic Roman numerals to tally stick notation conventions. Early Numeration - Tally Sticks, Counting Boards, and Sumerian Proto-Writing by John Alan Halloran (http://www.sumerian.org/)


Now, let me show those readers who have an interest in "twos" variously named duality, dichotomy, pair, complement, complementarity, binary, dyad... etc., because (if for no other reason) they need to realize that I acknowledge the existence of numerous "2s" as well as other patterns such as the "7", "13" different mathematical bases having existed in different cultures such as the 2 (in computers), 5 (common sorting system), 10 (current day), 12 (present time allocations of the day) , 20 (Mayans), 60 (Babylonians), etc... (Here is a reference to different types of counting system bases: List of Numeral systems), but don't view it as the definitive source.


This next image was culled from: (What sort of world is this?). A colleague (Richard Williams) sent me the link after he had taken the test. My score is 2.77. I was particularly amused at being confronted by having to choose between dichotomies! And yet, there is a three-part categorization. I present the poster and the link for those who may want to pursue the interesting idea which the group at the UPenn Primals Project have come up with, even though it is yet another example of the Persistent Dichotomies being used in Psychology classes and Mathematics.


Primal poster of the
What sort of world is this?

Examples of yin and yang patterns-of-two List of Dualites in Mathematics
Examples of duality ideas

Hemispheric attriubtes rendered as a dichotomy

Source: Mesologue


I sometimes come across a person asking Psychologists (of all people to query) why they persistently see the number three in multiple observations. And of course the typical response is that the person is experiencing some measure of OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). While this may be true in some cases, one needs to put the situation into a larger context. Such as that if the recurrent usage of a given number pattern is indicative of an OCD situation, then one must surely say that this is what Nature is expression. But more to the point is that the field of Psychology necessarily disparages any pattern that is not conducive to its own OCD situation in using patterns-of-two. It is clearly suffering from an OCD situation:


Examples of the two-patterned orientation which Psychology is using

Another installment of the persistent dichotomies in psychology

As a momentary digression from adding more examples to the in-development foregoing "black-lit poster," I put together other people's collections of what they think are noteworthy Trios. You can tell by the content of the following lists the mental age group from which the writer (or writers) come from. Nonetheless, the "threes" theme is alive and well. (Today's date is 05/06/2023, 3:22 PM. I've been up since 2 AM working on the Threes project to make up for lost time while traveling over 800 miles.)

Trios Listings: List of fictional trios

  • Aang, Katara and Sokka- ((Avatar: The Last Airbender)
  • The three pigs (David Wiesner)
  • Bambi, Thumper and Flower - ((Bambi and Bambi II)
  • Snap, Crackle and Pop - ((Rice Krispies cereal commercial)
  • SpongeBob, Patrick and Squidward - ((SpongeBob SquarePants & Nickelodeon)
  • Athos, Aramis and Porthos - ((The Three Musketeers))
  • Jet, Wave, and Storm (Babylon Rogues, Sonic the Hedgehog, since Sonic Riders)
  • Benjamin Tennyson, Gwendolyn Tennyson and Kevin Levin - ((Ben 10: Alien Force)
  • Billy, Mandy and Grim - ((The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy)
  • Jason, Simon and Declen (The Blockheads, The Sleepover Club)
  • Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup - (The Powerpuff Girls)
  • Virgil Fox, Charlie Tuttle, Zeke Thompson - (Minutemen)
  • Moe, Larry and Curly - (The Three Stooges)
  • Prue, Piper and Pheobe Halliwell - (Charmed)
  • Piper and Pheobe Halliwell and Paige Matthews - (Charmed)
  • Megan, Mabel and Mitzy Stillwell - (Charmed)
  • Greg, Paul and Brenden Rowe - (Charmed)
  • Rose Tyler, Martha Jones and Donna Noble - (Doctor Who)
  • Rose Tyler, Jack Harkness, and the Ninth Doctor - (Doctor Who)
  • Donna Noble, Martha Jones, and the Tenth Doctor - (Doctor Who)
  • Drak, Frankenstein's monster, and Howler - (Drak Pack)
  • Drake, Josh and Megan - (Drake and Josh)
  • Vapor Man, Meteor Man, and Gravity Girl - (The Galaxy Trio)
  • Sophia and Emma Norton and Adil. - (Genie in the House)
  • Cleo Satori, Emma Gilbert and Ricky Chadwick - (H20, Just add Water.)
  • Lewis McCartney, Ash Dove and Zane Bennet
    • - Cleo, Emma and Ricky,s boyfriends - (H20, Just add Water)
  • Gracie Watsford, Julia and Louisa Chatham - (H20, Just add Water 1950s)
  • Invisible Girl, Wonder Woman, and Thief Catcher - (The Heroic Trio)
  • Carly, Sam and Freddie - (iCarly.)
  • Coil Man, Fluid Man, and Multi Man - (The Impossibles)
  • Anya, Dimitri, and Vlad - (Anastasia)
  • Alex, Eddy and Stuart - (Threesome)
  • Cleopatra, Serge and Hel - (Cleopatra 2525)
  • Dracula, Werewolf, and Frankenstein's Monster - (The Monster Squad TV Series))
  • Cowley, Boddie and Doyle - (The Professionals.)
  • Count Duckula, Nanny, and Igor - (Count Duckula)
  • Daniel Fenton, Samantha Manson, and Tucker Foley - (Danny Phantom)
  • Doc, Squatt and Kutter - (The Terrible Thunderlizards)
  • Ed, Edd (Double D), and Eddy - (Ed, Edd n Eddy)
  • Robbie Ray, Jackson and Miley Stewart - (Hannah Montana)
  • Miley, Lilly and Oliver - (Hannah Montana)
  • Huey, Dewey and Louie - (Donald Duck's nephews)
  • Max Goof, Pete Junior and Robert 'Bobby Zimmeruski'
    • - (A Goofy Movie & An Extremely Goofy Movie)
  • Dusty Bottoms, Lucky Day, and Ned Nederlander - (Three Amigos!)
  • Larry, Curly, and Moe - (The Three Stooges)
  • Lock, Shock, and Barrel - (The Nightmare Before Christmas)
  • The M & Ms Matthew, Marco and Michell - (The Sleepover Club)
  • Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi - (Nintendo)
  • Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy - (Mickey Mouse & Disney)
  • Mickey Mouse, Winnie the Pooh and Ariel - (Disney)
  • Mickey Mouse, Winnie the Pooh and Mary Poppins - (Disney)
  • Snow White, Prince and Dopey - (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs & Disney)
  • Cinderella, Jac and Gus - (Cinderella & Disney)
  • Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Porky Pig - (Looney Tunes & Warner Bros.)
  • Mr. Blik, Gordon, and Waffles - (Catscratch)
  • Rocko, Heffer, and Filburt - (Rocko's Modern Life)
  • Sabrina, Hilda and Zelda Spellman - (Sabrina)
  • Cassie, D D and Shane - (She Spies)
  • Sam, Alex and Clover - (Totally Spies!)
  • Stead, Purdy and Gambit - (The New Avengers)
  • Garfield, Jon and Odie - (Garfield)
  • Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles - (Sonic the Hedgehog)
  • Spider-Man, Firestar, and Iceman - (Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends)
  • Xena, - Gabrielle and Argo (Xena Warrior Princess)
  • Yuna, Rikku, and Paine - (Final Fantasy X-2)
  • Zoey Dana and Nicole - (Zoey 101 Season 1)
  • Zoey, Nicole and Lola - (Zoey 101 Season 2)
  • Zoey, Lola and Quinn - (Zoey 101 Season 3 and Season 4 except Episode 1)
  • Lola, Quinn and Stacy - (Zoey 101 Season 4 Episode 1)
  • Logan, Chase and Michael - (Zoey 101 Seasons 1 to 3 and late Season 4)
  • Logan, Michael and James - (Zoey 101 Early Season 4)
  • Chanel, Dorinda and Aquanette - (The Cheetah Girls: One World)
  • Harry, Ron and Hermione - (Harry Potter)
  • Tom Servo, Crow T. Robot, and Joel Robinson/Mike Nelson
    • (Mystery Science Theater 3000)
  • Alvin, Theodore, and Simon - (Alvin and the Chipmunks)
  • Captain Kirk, Spock and Doctor McCoy (Star Trek)
  • Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa and Han Solo - (Star Wars)
  • Darth Vader, Palpatine and Red Guard - (Star Wars)
  • Darth Vader and two Stormtroopers - (Star Wars)
  • Tin Man, Scarecrow, and Cowardly Lion (Wizard of Oz)
  • The Ghostly Trio... and Casper (Casper the Friendly Ghost) [3 to 1 ratio]
  • Professor Lidenbrock, Axel, and Hans Bjelke (A Journey to the Center of the Earth)
  • Ben, Gwen and Max Tennyson - (Ben 10)
  • Mario, Luigi and Wario - (Mario 64)
  • Simba, Timon and Pumbaa - (The Lion King)
  • Shenzi, Banzai and Ed - (The Lion King)
  • Mowgli, Bagheera and Baloo - (The Jungle Book)
  • Tarzan, Terk and Tantor - (Tarzan)
  • Tarzan, Jane, Boy (Old Tarzan television series)
  • Perry White, Clark Kent, Jimmy Olsen (Old Superman television series)
  • Ash, Brock and Misty - (Pokemon)
  • Ash, Tracy and Misty - (Pokemon)
  • Ash, Brock and Dawn - (Pokemon)
  • Jessie, James and Meowth - (Pokemon)
  • Jessie, Bullseye and Stinky Pete - (Toy Story 2)
  • Woody, Buzz Lightyear and Jessie - (Toy Story)
  • Sully, Mike and Boo - (Monsters, Inc.)
  • Wilt, Edwardo and Coco - (Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends)
  • Lazlo, Raj and Clam - (Camp Lazlo)
  • Gonzo, Kermit and Fozzie - (The Muppets)
  • Archie, Reggie and Jughead - (Archie comics)
  • Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman - (DC Comics)
  • Superman, Batman and Robin - (DC Comics)
  • Superman, Batman and the Flash - (DC Comics)
  • Spider-Man, Hulk and Wolverine - (Marvel Comics)
  • Spider-Man, Hulk and Captain America - (Marvel Comics)
  • Spider-Man, Hulk and Iron Man - (Marvel Comics)
  • Spider-Man, Iron Man and Captain America - (Marvel Comics)
  • Iron Man, Captain America and Thor - (Marvel Comics)
  • Shrek, Donkey and Puss in Boots - (Shrek)
  • Dr. Fate, Aquaman and Solomon Grundy - (Justice League)
  • Optomus Prime, Hotshot and Red Alert - (Transformers Armada)
  • Jolt, Reverb and Six Speed - (Transformers Cybertron)
  • Red Alert, Hotshot and Scatter Shot - (Transformers Cybertron)
  • Brittany, Jeanette, and Elenore - (The Chipettes)
  • Joe, Sam, and Fred - (Time Warp Trio)
  • Jodie, Samantha, and Freddi - (Time Warp Trio)
  • Yao, Ling and Chien Po - (Mulan)
  • Raven, Eddie and Chelsea - (That's So Raven)
  • Yakko, Wakko and Dot - (Animaniacs)
  • Peanut, Butter and Jelly Otter - (PB&J Otter)
  • Jack, Mary, and Mel - (Jack's Big Music Show)

Charlie's Angels (Movies and Television)

  • Sabrina, Jill and Kelly
  • Sabrina, Kelly and Kris
  • Kelly, Kris and Tiffany
  • Kelly, Kris and Julie
  • Kris, Julie and Connie
  • Julie, Connie and Pam
  • Connie, Pam and Trisha
  • Pam, Trisha and Bernie
  • Trisha, Bernie and Madison
  • Bernie, Madison and Adrianna
  • Madison, Adrianna and Eleyna
  • Adrianna' Eleyna and Gina
  • Eleyna' Gina and Dylan
  • Gina, Dylan and Alex
  • Dylan, Alex and Natalie
  • Alex, Natalie and Franziska
  • Natalie, Franziska and Lena
  • Franziska, Lena and Raven
  • Lena, Raven and Rebecca
  • Raven' Rebecca and Ida
  • Rebecca,Ida and Kiko

Fictional Trios (huffpost)

  • Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli (Fellowship of the Ring)
  • Buffy, Willow and Xander (Buffy, Vampire Slayer)
  • Vizzini, Fezzik and Inigo (The Princess Bride)
  • Falcio, Kest and Brasti (Greatcoats)

18 great pop culture trios

  • Sutton, Jane, and Kat (The Bold Type)
  • Annie, Brenda, and Elise (The First Wives Club)
  • Lizzie, Gordo, and Miranda from Lizzie McGuire)
  • Rocky, Colt, and Tum-Tum (3 Ninjas)
  • Sam, Neal, and Bill (Freaks and Geeks)
  • Judy, Violet, and Doralee (9 to 5)
  • Cory, Shawn, and Topanga (Boy Meets World)
  • Ferris, Cameron, and Sloane (Ferris Bueller's Day Off)
  • The Sanderson Sisters (Hocus Pocus)

I decided to move my commentary to the bottom of the page because many viewers come to this site simply wanting to see a collection of threes-related phenomena and are not necessarily interested in what I have to think about the different examples. However, for those who might be interested in my point of view, I have a few things to say.

I am not trying to place the many hundreds of examples I have on this single page, but provide some inkling as to the ubiquity of occurrence, as well as its absence. And yes, you can find other number patterns and might well claim that you can put together a list of a particular number you have an interest in, but most likely you won't take the time and will instead collect together the lists compiled by someone else on a given subject, any yet rarely if ever encounter someone taking time to probe the consideration of why such a situation is occurring. Nonetheless, I appreciate the sentiment but the argument needs to be taken to the next level of discussion which is that if and when others do take the time to make a collection, they will have to step back and realize that only a very few number patterns are being used (out of the presumed infinity of numbers at our disposal), and that some are more frequently used than others such as the "Three".

If we say that those making a collection of a number pattern through writing or recollection or repeated observations are exercising an obsession and/or compulsion, then we might as well regard Nature as a similar type of Numerologically-focused neurotic. If particle physics doesn't come in threes families of fundamental particles, or DNA doesn't have a triplet code; or we are not on the third planet from a source of solar energy; or our physiology is not replete with patterns-of-three; or most people don't hold a pen or pencil with three fingers; or multiple military vehicles don't have three men/personnel crews; if there are not three U.S. credit bureaus, if there are not three dominant University degrees (Bachelor's- Master's- PhD); or if there are not three dominant desert-born Monotheistic religions, etc., then what we have is the situation in which multiple millions of people are engaging in the practice of a similar delusion. No less, those who prefer patterns-of-13 or patterns-of-7 are the more-so delusionally obsessed because they don't recognize how sparse such patterns actually occur, and they are engaging in an emotionally provoked guesstimation.

It needs to be said that the absence of most numbers being used as patterns speaks of a "Conservation of Number" being forcibly imposed on us as a survival requirement under the conditions of a Sun, Earth and Moon incrementally deteriorating; and as an adaptive creature we are obligingly following suit... all the while using culturally accepted rationalizations as a means to secure some measure of supposed equilibrium. It is not that we aren't capable of thinking in larger enumerations or using more number patterns with a greater frequency, but we are being forced not to as suggested by the lack of evolutionary development in the triplet code of DNA. While multiple other biological changes have taken place along a 1- 2- 3 maturational development sequence such as the Three Germ layers, we are not only stuck with a triplet code but the "Big Three" macromolecules noted as RNA- DNA- Proteins. In other words we do not have... or at least do not cite 4, 5, 6 or more macromolecules. We reference three.

In an attempt to discern some reason as to why we are using a given number pattern more frequently, one might say (for example) the "3" has been influenced by the triplet code of DNA, and yet how did this also influence its own origination? Indeed, how did the triplet code of DNA put us on a 3rd planet? Is it a biologically-based spaceship which transplanted the viability of life on Earth? Or we might say it is due to being on the 3rd planet and yet despite the litany of routine answers as to why life originated on the 3rd planet, we still have no clue except for a few to indulge in some silly and idiotic Western religious or Eastern philosophical notion. What such responses tell me is that the world is filled with philosophical, and meta-physical intellectual light-weights whose prowess of imagination and insight have fallen into the trap of exercising a conveniently conserved appraisal... due to a current tradition, cultural and academic practice, political expediency, business greed, or mental faddishness because they embrace the intellectual tradition of someone who is far removed in time, knowledge and predisposition from the present discussion. Ask a supposed professional in any given subject about the threes phenomena and they might say they don't know. Yet if they feel they are being pressured or set up to viewed as a demented court jester they may ask you what you think, only to berate, admonish, or suggest you are engaging in some other-than their niche' developed sanity which is comfortably practiced in or out of an institution.

The situation is very much like the usage of particular letters in a game of scrabble. In this case the letter "E" is used more frequently (at least in the English language) and thus is the letter which has the most copies. (Let me interject at this point that the "E" can be viewed as a mirror-imaged, cognitively symmetrical "3"). It is not that there aren't any other patterns, but that some patterns are more frequently occurring than others... in this case based on language, but this may not be the case for a disposition in which the "3" is dominant in multiple situations such as occurring in biology and physics. Most numbers come up as blanks, when taking stock of the infinity of numbers supposedly at our disposal that we can make use of. Other numbers have their relative frequency and may be dominant in a given situation, but when all number patterns being used by humans are taken into account, it is not wrong to suspect that the "3" plays a dominant role, even if you insist that other number patterns are just as or are more important. You must stop engaging in a game of one-upmanship and take stock of all the numbers. I am not interested in your parlor games of semantics.


Letters in the game of Scrabble

With respect to language, I am astonished to see that not a single linguist has made any mention of the recurring patterns-of-three in the human ear and its possible effects in the form of multiple threes-patterns being used in speaking and writing. We simply need to get an electrical/mechanical/fluid department in some University involved with the construction of an artificial ear whose patterning can be altered; in order to document the effects which would ensue accordingly, thus establishing that the dominant "three" pattern in audiology may well have an effect on how we think... which is to create three-patterned ideological constructs. By creating an A.I. with a means to alter its auditory perception, reality might well be perceived in terms of being able to provide a greater insight than the predominant 3-patterned physiology of humans can.

If you were to examine other languages you might well find preferences of usage for a given letter. And even though a culture may insist that (for example) the number 7 is most important, it may well be the case upon closer examination that some other number pattern such as the "3" plays a greater role, even if people in the culture can not see this and may even deny it. For example the insistence in the Islamic cultures for the value of 7 because of its association with the Koran is clearly an antiquated view based on old notions pertaining to an ancient history involving star-gazing and its perspectives of the seven stars in the Big Dipper and Pleiades (also known as the Seven Sisters). The intellectual traditions of Islam need to grow up by taking a larger stock of reality from multiple subjects, even though this is already taking place amongst individual thinkers who are not letting their cognitive orientation be suppressed or shackled. Likewise the triune and Trinitarian traditions in Hinduism and Christianity. I need not speak of Judaism's similar nonsense interests. Trying to speak with such people is very much, I would imagine, to be a situation in which a Cro-magnon person encountered a Neanderthal. Their perceptual frameworks were on the order of being different realities.


To each of the seven heavens corresponds one of the seven classical planets known in antiquity. Ancient observers noticed that these heavenly objects (the Moon, Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn) moved at different paces in the sky both from each other and from the fixed stars beyond them. Unlike comets, which appeared in the sky with no warning, they did move in regular patterns that could be predicted. They also observed that objects in the sky influenced objects on earth as when movements of the sun affect the behavior of plants or movements of the moon affect ocean tides. Others believe the seven heavens are related to the seven stars of Orion, the Big Dipper, Little Dipper and the Pleaides/Seven Sisters according to ancient western astrology. (Seven Heavens)


f you take the time to not only record frequency but how and where a given number pattern crops up, you will see some stick out more than others just as there are some used for more serious ideas while others are used for daily routines of conversation; often hidden by gesture and words. In other words, if you survey a given area such as Science-related topics or Religion, or literature, or common expressions for a given culture, you might indeed find a particular frequency which you favor... and yet most likely do not contrast it with a like effort to seek out and catalog other patterns in a similar manner. Whereas I am not arguing against the presence of other patterns, but that we can readily detect the presence of a greater usage for some, and that other researchers have not looked at this as a tell-tale cognitive behavioral pattern which has a causal circumstance with more profound implications than the customary religious, psychological and cultural reviews being issued dismissively, by calling them superstitious, an obsessive/compulsion, or having some sacred meaning meant to reinforce some particular emotive belief.

In all too many instances, if a person thinks alternatively and are felt to be a threat by those harboring some accepted social convention of thought, those around them may well try to alter conditions in order to force a person to see things as they do... otherwise get rid of them by death or incarceration. There is nothing they may try in order to prevent your ideas becoming viewed as a viable alternative... unless of course they can absorb it into their culture and use it to perpetuate their own views... much like religions of old did when incorporating pagan beliefs and refashioning them with ritual, cultural garments and wording. In the case of Socrates, for example, he was forced to drink Hemlock because of three accusers saying he was corrupting the young. Likewise, when three children in Colonial America fell ill and a washer-woman was accused of witchcraft, she was hanged. No less need I say that the character called Jesus was supposedly executed on a cross with two others because the Jewish community viewed him as a threat to their nonsense. Or not to mention the many thousands who died because they stood against The Third Reich? No less, whether factual or not, there is the cultural view that deaths occur in threes. Not in twos, not in fours, not in eights, etc., but threes.

Superstition or not, the recurrence of the "three" is not being seriously looked at in the context of a cognitive profile of the species as a tell-tale indicator of its health. Instead, we have would-be researchers engaging in antiquated notions concerning the 3. Why can't researchers move beyond this? Not only do they perpetuate old "threes" ideas but old ideas about the 3's (and other patterns) as well. Mathematicians, Psychologists, Theologians and old Philosophers perpetrate a perpetuation of this idiocy because to study the "threes" phenomena in concert with other patterns is not a subject that has been taught in any academic setting for which one might get a degree and eventually a job. However, all too often it is overlooked that most valuable and viable subjects did not initially provide its practitioners with some academic credential, be it philosophy, architecture, art, music, mathematics/accounting, chemistry, physics, sociology, astronomy, linguistics, biology, anthropology, medicine/surgery, herbalism, animal husbandry, archeology, psychology/counseling, sport, cooking, baking, gardening, metallurgy, etc... Indeed, many such exercises were no doubt looked upon as strange occupations for someone to be engaged in with any supposed common sense.

If there is a cognitive shift taking place over time, episodically, abruptly, etc., does this signal an evolutionary change in humanity which requires the new breed of humans to "mitigate" the effects of the old breed, much like the activities of Cro-magnons leading to the disintegration of the Neanderthals? Or are we to engage in fruitless debates whether Neanderthals should have been preserved, regardless of cost? Do migrations, evolutions, etc., earmark such cognitive changes which may have an enduring environmental/genetic influence? Can we spot periodic reversals if they occur? How do we identify an actual evolutionary change in human cognition as opposed to some fad? Are there no longer to occur such fundamental advances in thinking such as the discovery and usage of fire, the wheel, the (plowing) harness, writing, and mathematics... ideas which were not initially pursued because of some commercial product to be manufactured and sold, but because it had the priceless value of inventive utility?

Nonetheless, the larger issue is why and if there is a change in the dominant number pattern taking place; we need to identify this and ascertain what it means, and not let the defining interpretation be left in the hands of those who act as if they live only to preserve their personal niche' in a status quo they are most comfortable with. and let the rest of the people be damned and fend for themselves; as is the sometimes apparent attitude of many Legislatures, the Congress, and the Supreme Court— or else they would insist that a National referendum policy be instituted to better serve the Will of the People that they no longer appreciably represent or they would (for example) legislate:

  1. Term limits for all government employees and those receiving government contracts.
  2. Annulation of the Civil asset forfeiture practice.
  3. Periodic mental competency tests for all public officials, candidates and gun/weapon owners.
  4. One year mandatory prison sentences to determine if a person can be habilitated or re-habilitated into society, or else-wise executed. (There is no reason to perpetuate the life of potential predators.)
  5. Loss of complete citizenship to any and all engaging in tactics to subvert or avert any and all laws such as paying taxes.
  6. Remove double and triple standards of justice being used for the wealthy and politically connected.

A 3s-oriented individual may find circumstances a bit more difficult in a 2s-oriented environment. Then again, it has been said that it is easier for a sane person to play the part of insanity than those who are insane to play the part of sanity. And if you are one of the super-sane/super-sober individuals, the situations encountered may well be multiplied.

Whereas you may see a "three" pattern, someone else may insist on some other pattern such as "2" of 1 or 4, 5, 6, 7, etc... The following caption is an example of different perceptions coming to the fore depending on the presumed loss or gain of something such as money, personal worth, status in a community, etc...:

2 versus 3 contention illustrated in a fresco from Pempeii

A present day variation can be seen in the description of layers related to cells. The previous perspective described the cell has having a "Trilaminar" structure while later researchers preferred the label of a "Bilipid" layer, though the term "Mosaic model" is frequently referenced:


Trilaminar description of cell

Models of Membrane structure which later emphacise a 2

Presenting the foregoing models apparently presents us with three options:

  1. The membranes of cells are trilaminar.
  2. The membranes of cells are bilaminar.
  3. The membranes of cells are both (or if you prefer, neither.)

I don't come across anyone explicitly combining the two ideas to produce a reference to cells as a "Trilaminar structured bilipid functionality per each (1) cell". Hence, we could then recognize the presence of a 1-2-3 engineered composite. Instead, we find intelligent people squabbling over a 2 versus 3 observation like the foregoing cartoonish-looking Pompeii characters.

We must also take into consideration that the later interpretation could well be an indication of researchers becoming "two-patterned biased" by having been influenced by the effects of a heavy dosage of relying on mathematics to approve of or disapprove of an idea; which emphasizes a "two-patterned" perspective, as described later on in this page with an adjoining list of two-patterned ideas seen not only in the Old Yin/Yang listings of dualities, but also in the current vogue of ideas being used in Psychology called the Persistent Dichotomies.

Basic Points to Consider:

1) Out of the supposed Infinity of numbers at our disposal, we humans use only a very small set. "3" in its various guises (triad, triune, triple, etc., as words, symbols, spaces, etc.,) is but one of these few. Hence, we are experiencing a Conservation of Number that I think is cause for concern because it is influenced by a condition of Nature which is dying. However, this does not mean we are incapable of using a larger set, but that we are being environmentally forced not to, as a survival mechanism in a global, planetary, and galactic condition of incremental deterioration.

2) Numbers in our usage set (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, etc...), exhibit different frequencies of occurrence, just as one encounters the use of some letters more often such as in a game of scrabble or the use of numbers (or the 3 face cards) when playing a game of cards, betting on the lottery, betting on horses, sports games, etc... For example, if we look at the numbers displayed on ball-sports jerseys, race cars, during cycling events, and other competitions, we see only a handful of number patterns. Larger number patterns such as those used in the American Social Security system display groupings, such as 3 numbers, then 2 numbers, followed by another set of 3 numbers. Indeed, when counting, we humans generally use the notation of ones-tens-hundreds followed by a comma... before beginning another set of 3 number references. In fact, when we look at all languages we find a 3-part word order consisting of a Subject- Object- Verb, though not necessarily in this specific order.

3) Because Nature apparently likes to use particular number patterns more than others, we might well describe Nature as being an Obsessive/Compulsive instead of pointing our fingers at a particular individual who collects such patterns relating to Nature, or Culture or some aspect thereof. (We do not see Nature using the so-called Infinity of numbers.) Nature very often uses small groupings with frequencies of occurrence that humans generally do not take the time to map out as I and a few others are doing.

Here are some Conservations of Numbers examples:

The small number of Elements in the Periodic table
It is incredible to consider that in all the Universe there are only 118 or so).
The triplet code in genetics
(and the presence of a "3 the same, 1 is different" array of DNA/RNA amino acids)...
Let us ask why the triplet code has not evolved along with other biological structures exhibiting increased enumeration?
The shortest alphabet is Mohawk, with 12 letters. The longest alphabet is Slovak, with 46 characters.

English Alphabet reference

Millions of people have a 1st, Middle, Last name
(though some have only two, are referenced by 1, with a few using more than 3).
Life as we know it as a fact, exists only on the 3rd planet...
(and not as an intellectual's imaginative exercise of speculation suggesting it may exist elsewhere).
It is not on the 1st planet, not the 2nd, planet, not the 4th, nor 5th, nor 6th, nor 7th, etc...

A Conservation of Number usage also is true for the writers of Religious texts. However, it must be understood that ancient peoples sometimes expressed some large quantity as a "Many" reference seen in early counting systems, where the general expression of "1- 2- Many" can be used to illustrate a primitive development of enumeration. We must also be cognizant of one-upmanship activities that I have seen when asking a group of people what their favorite number is. Someone frequently attempts to "beat" or "best" everyone else by claiming a higher number or some exaggerated sense of multiplicity as a means of standing out... of being different, of being unique. (This is not to say such an individual does not exist and actually does use some enlarged purposeful enumeration.) We do not see a large array of number patterns being used in any of the religious texts... at least none that have been reported. We see multiple repetitions but not multiple uses of large numbers which are not substitute expressions of assigning multiplicity in an attempted ego-attendant dominance of thinking in terms of exhibiting superiority. For example, to claim oneself as a millionaire may well be viewed by some as a sense of superiority, whereas another may claim they are a Billionaire... with some awaiting to achieve a Trillionaire status and a few thinking in terms of being a GaZillionaire. (As for myself, I am in the penny-picker-upper stage of financial development. HA!)

Generally, religious texts are written by writers who have an affinity for some number that is in vogue in their particular culture during their time period, or they are engaging in a particular pattern as a writing technique, such as using the numbers 3 or 7 or some formula of "2." For example, such as is displayed by the notion of a divine pair. Words, symbols, and various ideas often become used as substitutes for quantities. Apparently, God also is stuck on using a handful of numbers, despite any attempt to suggest otherwise by words interpreted to mean the contrary. For example, the use of the "666" is not a number value but a 3-patterned symbol adopted by humans who might think it a value which some purported singular ("1") god gave to humanity as a means of distinguishing good from evil. It is purely human ego which claims their is a singular god and not two or more. In addition, just because you use the word "Infinity" does not mean you are using an Infinity of numbers. "Infinity" (just like the old Chinese expression of "10,000") is an expression equivalent to the Primitive person's usage of the word "many" or much, or heap, pile, mound, etc... Other words such as multiplicity, plurality, magnitude, exponential, universal, God, eternity, immortality, etc... are substitutes. With respect to money, we humans have only Billionaires and some Nations are stuck in the Trillions range of activity. These accounts also are small enumerations, relatively speaking, though you may personally be over-whelmed. The usage of "Bi" and "Tri" is the simple 2 and 3 orientations being repeated.

Date of Origination: Wednesday, 4th January 2023... 4:36 AM
Date of Initial posting: Wednesday, 4th January 2023... 4:41 PM
Updated posting: Thursday 8th June 2023... 7:18 AM