A Study of the Threes Phenomena
(Does it lead to a Scientification of Philosophy?)
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Progressive Thinkers as of 10/1/2023
with respect to the items being listed as examples.
The width and Length of the Initial Homepage 3s (Black poster) collection was stopped at 993/30000, though I wanted to continue it. I do so with the forthcoming addition on this page. Also, please do not consider that I advocate any of the ideas being exhibited as examples. I have not read any of the books with a "three" title. Nor do I follow a particular view being expressed by this or that protest group, religion, alternate ideology, etc... I am collecting examples whether or not a given reader finds some example(s) offensive to their beliefs. You might want to think of it as a collection of facts and artefacts from different places and eras, much in the manner as an amateur collects rocks, bones or some other item that is typically taken for granted or used as a colloquial/cultural medium of exchange, if not as a specificity... much in the manner of someone who unknowingly practices a type of "functional fixedness" mode of thinking... where a hammer is a hammer and has no other use in their frame of thinking.
In such a perspective the hammer does not come to mind to be used as a paper weight, door stop, nut cracker, etc... The same goes for patterns, be they numerical, geometric, sounds, tastes, feelings etc... We sometimes call functional fixedness as a tradition, a history, a practice, an observance, a belief (religion/philosophy), a mathematics, a musical form, an exercise model, a prescription, a dietary regime, etc... This is how some patterns-of-three are viewed. Hence, one can very often find the phrase "rule of three" being used as a label which functionally-fixated thinkers will use as if it is "THE" means of describing the recurrence of the pattern, without taking stock of the variations or any possible meaning which might be derived that they have not considered, but has application in their venue of predispositions. Much in the manner as a person uses a word such as "bug" for the variety of insects or the generalities of dog, cat, horse, car, truck, bus, food, love, learning, medicine, exercise, sex, bread, drugs, music, war, peace, politics, etc... Far too often possible useful distinctions are overlooked.
Thus to a functionally fixed frame of mind, the word God, Angel, Devil or the Trinity in Christianity is a one-of-a-kind perspective with no correlates... and therefore has no counter-part elsewhere in History in some other method, mode or manner of thinking or illustration. Such constrained thinking doesn't want their emotionally defined idea to be seen as a mere reflected pattern taking up space in the mind just because of some emotional attachment they refuse to grow out of. And for me to suggest the trinitarian perspective of "3 persons in 1 god-head" is a remnant of an ancient solar observance by so-called "pagans" (the dawn-noon-dusk in one sun), is wholly unrealistic to those with a singularly oriented mental focus with an over-value Ego standard. While I am not saying that all patterns-of-three are representative of the Sun's three phases (or moments), the recurrence of such a pattern in so very many key circumstances of biology, physics and day-to-day uses speaks to the point of an ongoing environmental influence we are keeping pace with as a requirement of our survival under deterioration planetary conditions.
We need to keep abreast of our developmental usage of the "three" (and other patterns) as a means of attempting to decipher what, which, when... if any recurring pattern is increasing, decreasing or becoming altered such as the 3 increasingly becoming exhibited as a fused compilation, such as having 3 colors placed into one item called a street light or on a single flag. Hence, this is an example of a 3-to-1 ratio just as we see in DNA and RNA described as having 3 amino acids the same (both have adenosine - cytosine - guanine), with DNA and RNA differentiated by having Thymine and Uracil, respectively. The 3 to 1 ratios in different subject areas should increase over time due to the slowing of the Earth's rotation and the Expansion of the Sun. They will be overlooked and assimilated into day-to-day thoughts and activities unless we are cognizant of the possibility of such an occurrence as I am describing. Otherwise, the rationalization which accompanies adaptation will obscure the events.
To place the collections of threes being compiled by different individuals who may apply such a technique to a specialized interest, they are thus a type of collector of a given species... so to speak. In other words, the "three" is being described as a species of thought and activity with multiple variations, just as we see in Charles Darwin's line-up of Finches:
Yes, I know there are other patterns, but to simply say "there are lots of other patterns" is an excuse being used by those who simply remind me of someone saying "look at all the pretty birds" and do not honestly observe, record and further analyze them from a necessary and needed objective distance.
Another way of looking at the lineup is by assigning a different number to each one and labeling them as a species of thought. In one vein of thinking we could label them as a model of thinking. For example the number "1" is a type of thinking pattern which as variations such as "I am the person" with the word or letter "I" in this context representing the value of one. The same goes if we a, an, the, etc... Hence, to say "you and I" is two. A phrase such as "Me and them" also is two because the "them" is being used in a singular fashion without delineating or specifying a particular quantity that is more than two. This is pretty simple thinking but gives an indication that we can identify particularly repeating quantities, even if numerical values are explicitly being acknowledged. By making an extensive list of threes, the idea of a different number value might come to some reader's mind and they will make a collection of which ever number they are focused on. However, the fact remains that some very fundamental Natural events apparently occur in patterns-of-three and not some other value.
If DNA and RNA and the Germ layers, and particle physics, etc., exhibited some other recurring number— say 13 for example, this value would be placed at a higher rung of consideration as to having some meaning beyond any superstitious cultural application or appellation. While some prefer the value of two or seven and can cite numerous examples of the pattern in various subjects and contexts, they then don't apply it in the context of enumeration as a developmental feature occurring in life or human cognition. Their interest is selectively personal. Instead, it becomes their god... so to speak... just like the Jews are obsessed with the number 1 in the context of having developed the idea of a single god and that they are the singularly important people. They can't see the 1 as a label in a larger context because they are self-obsessed, just like sports fans who claim their team is number 1, which somehow magically translates into themselves being of singular importance because of their affiliation therewith.
The fact that the world has bought into the concept of a singular god, says something more about human ego and much less than about the Universe, except that some humans use it to further the egotism of themselves by claiming they have some singularly important role in it.
While it is clear that numbers have a relationship to other numbers, the idea that numbers can be used as identifiers of recurring cognitive patterns related to environmental influences is less well known, thought of or much less being applied as a tool of measurement aside from all of the present applications. Although numbers are in great usage today, this does not mean it will be so in the future. Numbers may well be regarded as runic characters on a rune stone that does not contain two other symbolic languages by which decipherment is made much easier as in the case of the:
- Rosetta stone; It was discovered by a Frenchman named Bouchard or Boussard in August 1799. Inscribed in two languages, Egyptian and Greek, and three writing systems, hieroglyphics, demotic script (a cursive form of Egyptian hieroglyphics), and the Greek alphabet, it provided a key to the translation of Egyptian hieroglyphic writing. ("Rosetta Stone." (2013). Encyclopædia Britannica.)
- Galle inscription; The Galle Trilingual Inscription is a stone tablet with an inscription in three languages, Chinese, Tamil and Persian, located in Galle, Sri Lanka. Dated 15 February 1409, it was installed by the Chinese admiral Zheng He in Galle during his grand voyages. (Galle Trilingual Inscription)
- Behistun rock formation; Written in Babylonian, Old Persian, and Elamite, the inscription records the way in which Darius, after the death of Cambyses II (reigned 529–522 BC), killed the usurper Gaumata, defeated the rebels, and assumed the throne. The organization of the Persian territories into satrapies or provinces is also recorded. The inscriptions were first reached and copied (1835–47) by Henry Rawlinson, an officer in the East India Company working in Persia. Rawlinson published his findings in 1849 and virtually accomplished the task of deciphering the Old Persian cuneiform texts. ("Bi-situ-n." (2013). Encyclopædia Britannica.)
I put it in the "RGB" lineup instead of as an alphabetized "BGR" order, to align it with the already used color scheme of Red - Green - Blue. Numbers can be used as a tool for identifying recurring patterns-of-thought in different contexts and as a variation of another formula, much like the variations seen in a species such as the Finches of Darwin.
Cognitive Psychology is in its infancy... or perhaps one should say in its "cave man" days as a tell-tale reference of its present crude state and stage of usage. The partitioners have not thought to consider the application of a Taxonomy to patterns of thought, just as early collectors of animal bones and archeological artefacts, sea shells, plants, etc., did not possess the intellectual initiative to develop an enlarged and deeper analysis due to their limited variety of examples, many of which are collected due to emotional attachments and varieties of culturally directed interests. They use an antiquated (text book) model of how to think about thinking. Present day universities remind me of a Fred Flintstone cartoon. Where antiquated suppositions are modernized for entertainment to fill the coffers of those who have learned how to manipulate the public into thinking they have a repository of ideas which can be used by others that they might be used to forage their particularly focused on environment (subject area) of interest. Very often we find that a College degree is no magic wand or Midis Touch, nor can it be used as a Swiss army knife unless a person is disposed to thinking in broader terms of applying their particularized education.
Let me say that the Cognitive Psychologists I have encountered do not take what can be described as a voyage of exploration (similar to what Darwin did on the Beagle) into the Island of Thought processing. They simply use what they have learned an apply it to the job which affords them an income to support their family. Whereas they seek to find answers to their questions by way of neurology, genetics, medicine, philosophy, physics, mathematics, etc., they do so within the accepted parameters of their job functions and are not paid to take time to consider such approaches may be akin to using the "sophisticated methods and manners" of ancient shamans, witch doctors, priests, priestesses, magi, etc... Instead, they prefer to use an armchair methodology of exploration to keep pace with the game which their colleagues are playing at in their various sociological venues... vying for a chance to bid their own individualized one-upmanship to toss the dice and see if it lands on a pattern others find useful to their interests of financial gain. They have not yet stepped away from the gaming table and bid passage on what is becoming a very serious... albeit fun, adventure into the domain of threes research.
I prefer to collect a variety of examples from different subjects... all the while thinking in terms of developing a taxonomy of conceptualization, just as did former collectors or plants, flowers, bones, architecture, etc... Some people look at birds, or fish, or clouds, weather, stars,, etc., and never think to apply their observations to an attempted analysis of identifying patterns, much less configure an attempted explanation. In my case, though I am preferentially collecting what I refer to as patterns-of-three, this does not mean I am dismissive of other patterns. I know all too well that there are patterns-of-two, one, seven, six, etc. Nor am I trying to create a following of interested others so as to provide them with a product to sell and somehow make myself some income. I don't want to be in a position of prostituting my efforts. There are far too many charlatans in Esoteric interests trying to sell you some make-believe ware... some of which are exercised in Universities under the guise of being a required course. Businesses, religions and governments are notorious for practicing such nefarity.
What I am seeking is a more richly tuned Taxonomy of thought processing that accounts not only for the routine, brick and mortar types of expressed and non-expressed processings, but also of creativity, spontaneity, originality, hybridization, etc... And though some Philosophers may not like it or emphatically disagree, I think that Philosophy can be "Scientificized". While this suggests a regimentation to some, as if human thinking can be systematized to reveal a presumed conservation of multiple choices otherwise viewed as a set from which the human mind can only select; the fact that out of an Infinity of possibilities human routinely use only a small fragment, highly suggests we can narrow in on the selections and selection process. Given that people don't like the options given by an AI and may routinely choose an alternative that is not itemized by the list constructed by the person who created the A.I.s list; this helps us to understand the limitations an AI (artificial intelligence) has and may always have. For example, if a programmer looks at the various examples of "threes" and is convinced this is a fairly used standard in multiple subject areas and therefore constructs a program accordingly, the program may not be able to account for someone who deliberately uses another pattern in the same manner that some people are routinely trying to "get over on the system", whatever system they have in mind in not being tethered to... such as those who want to "get off the grid". AI programs are not routinely being created by those who think broadly in terms of preserving an assumed right to be different... they want everyone to select from a given set of offerings so that they can say their program is right, is progressive, is allowing for freedom... that is, the type of freedom their program is aligned with according to the limitations of their mindset.
If the recurrence of "threes" indicates a prevailing "go-to" re-utilization of mental options in different circumstances, we must account for this behavior just as we must account for any repeated pattern regardless of shape, size, and structural commodity. While you may prefer to call the number three some sacred or universal truth not fully understood, or if not the "3" then the "7" or "2" or "13" or triangles, or circles, or some sound, or some taste, or some feeling, etc.., what you have done is provided us with another item. And even if your routine options of pattern usage exceeds a given number, it too will nonetheless be a conservation. The point to make is that if we do not make an effort to create a collection, just as did former star gazers, bone collectors, bird collectors, rock collectors, etc., then we can not begin to see whether or not some system of analyses can be effected. Granted you may not like to read your horoscope on a daily basis and there are those who would not make a move without doing so; we are provided with a means of making a more valid interpretation of Astrology's value. The same goes with a collection of threes. Is it a cultural interest that crops up now and again, or is an indication of the mindset of those in a culture who have not taken the time to make a more concerted effort to do so? While I have been told that others can do what I do, the fact remains is that I Do do it, and others do not... at least not in the fashion or explanation which I provide. The information of Threes is all around us and many have seen the examples I provide, but they have not made a collection of them because they have other interests. However, such a collection provides all of us with the knowledge that the usage of a "three pattern" occurs widely. You are being provided with proof that it does. And even if you subscribe to the argument that you could do the same for some other number or non-number pattern, why aren't you? And why aren't you coming to the conclusion that out of the infinity of numbers available to us, why are only a very conserved type and quantity being used? Is the Universe, Is Nature, or is it our physiology born from this that which creates such a limitation? If so, then what happens to this conservation as the environment deteriorates and survival requires further conservation because resources are becoming more scarce? To what pattern(s) will the human mind tend to use? We need to know this as a predictive value of human behavior that affects every institution that humans care to indulge in.
As with the list on the Home page, I will update the following list from time to time as time permits. In any case, if you are interested in threes r esearch, you should keep a copy of the different pages at this site and others, since a given author or website could expire without notice. If I expire and you visit my grave site, please make sure some type of "three" headstone or other attribute is being displayed. However, my preference is to be placed into outer space so that I can be revived by some future civilization or individual in order that I might continue my threes research.
As a further note, let me acknowledge both Simon Kelsey and Richard Williams who have provided multiple source examples. Their assistance has been invaluable. And though I have attempted to give all sources their due, I admittedly have been remiss in some cases. As researchers of human cognition, we need to make note of whether there is a change in the usage of ideas and activities expressing one or another enumerated theme. In other words, will the "three" remain a dominant theme or will it dissipate over time to be replaced? Is there a 1- 2- 3... maturational development sequence taking place with the human dispositions of thought over time? Will some future researcher find some other-than-three usage as a general characteristic to the extent that human anatomy takes on some other pattern such as a fusion of the three because the environment requires it as a survival mechanism? While some hold the romantic notion that "Mother Earth" would do no harm to its human off-spring, I beg to differ. Indeed, we humans need to sever the umbilical cord and remove ourselves from the prevailing Earth-bound dependency. My view is that we have (starting this year: 2023), have 1) 333 years to remove ourselves from the planet Earth, 2) 333 years to remove ourselves from the solar system, 3) have 333 years to get out of the galaxy. These values "popped" into mind awhile back to which I referenced elsewhere. (But for the moment, can't remember on what page I put it.)
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Here are a handful of threes examples from the alcohol beverage world, though I refrained from including items which exhibited 3 flavors being introduced by several companies... which could be extended into other product categories. It is not uncommon to come across advertisements featuring three items, whether as a new items lineup or merely a makeover of an old ensemble.
By creating a collection of three-patterned ideas, expressions, etc., one might eventually come to the point of asking why such an occurrence of recurring "threeness" is taking place. Such a question may be posed at anytime during one's acknowledgement of their encounter. Typically, there is the search for some fundamental reason which may lead one to the realization that biological life is dependent heavily on the presence of DNA with its defined triplet code, or the situation in which particle physicists describe the world of atomic particles with multiple patterns-of-three such as Protons- Neutrons- Electrons. (Why Do Matter Particles Come in Threes?) Some researchers may then turn to looking for additional fundamentals such as in physiology, to which we are thankful for the list of 3s in Anatomy put together by Dr. McNulty and his Associates. Yet, no matter which fundamental of Nature we subscribe to as the telling point to provide a definitive reason and rationale (such as the recurring structure of threes in the human ear and its affect on language and cognition); what we are looking at are ideas generated by the human organism with a particular physiology in a particular deteriorating environmental landscape... which suggests to me we are confronted with a design that has in some measure reflected the circumstances of the environment whether or not we can accurately assess the pristine influence(s) having begun billions of years ago.
Aside from the search for some fundamental reason, a person may attempt to propose to themselves and/or others that the frequency of "threes" is of value in helping them to secure some financial advantage. Others may prefer to use their realization and knowledge as a means to fortify some religious belief, if not some alternative perspective such as a 3rd eye consciousness, Angel number declaration, or other types of interpreted meaning that can be used to help one achieve a position for power or further manipulation. For example, decades ago I recall providing a work colleague with a verbalized list of multiple threes examples only to find him interested in how such knowledge could be translated into a mechanism, maneuver or machination to help him make money. That alone was his primary interest. To me, it what just fun to research and collect the different ideas... though all the while I was trying to decipher what, if any meaning might be culled from such a reservoir which kept on getting deeper and more expansive... particularly when I broadened my field of vision of what is meant by something exhibiting a pattern-of-three.
The realization that DNA is said to have a triplet code is THE initial emphasis that some use to convince themselves that what they are looking at has some validity beyond the common comprehension... particularly when they may find only one or two people having made a point in this direction. However, if you look at DNA and contrast it with RNA, what we see is that both share three amino acids (adenosine- cytosine- guanine), but are defined separately in that DNA has Thymine and RNA has Uracil. Such a 3-to-1 ratio has not been recognized in a larger context as a recurring cognitive pattern similar to the recurring threes. I provided a short list of examples on the homepage. This is important because it may reference the idea of a 3-in-1 situation referencing the environmental circumstance of the sun's three phases/"moments" (dawn- noon- dusk) that are slowing fusing together as the Earth's rotation slows and the Sun expands as both of them deteriorate over time. In a sense, human biology and ideology will come to mimic the event with increasing frequency over time. Interestingly, when we speak of the Sun and solar worship that was more prevalent in past ages, there were gods which were named to represent each of the phases and in particular, we have the Christian concept of the Trinity which illustrates the connection between this ancient religion created from Pagan sources and responses to paganism which had a more honest representation of themselves worshipping events in Nature. The connection in this instance being that the concept of the Trinity was a later born way of describing an earlier model of nature worship by using words such as Father- Son- Holy Sprit as if to conceal an instance of Nature worship somehow made an idea more sophisticated and thus more powerful. While the connection of the Trinity idea as a substitute model of solar worship has been obscured by time and those who clearly do not recognize the connections between earlier and later religions, it is rather a poignant reminder for those of us who do make the connection and see the three more clearly when the Trinity is sometimes described as a "3 persons in 1 god"... which is a reference to the 3 phases of the 1 Sun. Indeed, we have three phases in one sun. Just as we have three fundamental atomic particles in one atom. Those who dismiss this as ludicrous are simply not willing to accept the view that their attachment to their religion or science (including philosophy and mathematics) was born and bred from earlier Nature-focused associations.
Here is an attempt I made long ago to fit some sort of basic 3-patterned geometric scheme to a variety of activities, events and ideas:
It should be noted that in your own efforts to identify whether or not I am telling the truth about a given threes example, your own research may discover someone who prefers some other-than-three pattern in describing a given idea. For example, though I may list the Triune brain complex idea, someone insists upon describing it as a worthless idea and that others have referenced the brain in two parts, four parts, etc... And yet, upon providing alternative ideas they do not take into account that despite the infinity of numbers at our human disposal... when we take stock of all the ideas of a given topic, the overall pattern-of-number referencing is very limited. In other words, I too can find ideas which exhibit a pattern that contrasts or contradicts a "three" example, it is extremely difficult to find some topic being described in more than a few enumerated patterns. There is a CONSERVATION OF NUMBER taking place. This Conservation of Number means there is a limitation. This limitation is expressed in life spans, sports records, spans of civilizations, physical laws, etc... However, this view is not meant to limit the attempts to exceed limits by relegating yourself and/or others to accept less than what they want to strive for. Using it as an excuse to put up an obstacle is setting yourself or your idea up as a target to be surmounted.
Just because you and I can find examples of someone illustrating an idea with an other-than-three schematic doesn't mean you should discount the whole idea of threes referencing, and be dismissive of it as having any importance other than that which one can typically find being described by those working off of a small sampling. Using the value of three as a means to catalog examples doesn't mean I am obsessed with describing the "three" as being some Universal Theme and that to be attached to it one is thus automatically attached to or in concert with some grand Universal meaning. This is your ego talking as a supportive gesture to deduce yourself as having some personal measure of attribution that no one else or only a few share. The value of being cognizant of humility can not be overstated. Indeed, since human perception is so very limited, it is difficult for us to know... beyond some generalization, what it is meant when we say the word "Universe" or Universal. Even though I have cataloged hundreds of examples of "threes", this does not mean I am immune to recognizing the presence and pre valance of other quantity-related realizations. However, neither should you be immune from recognizing that when we take stock of all the quantitative themes being expressed, that we humans only use a very small quantity. This behavior is being forced upon us by environmental conditions which are deteriorating.
So what if you prefer patterns-of-one, two, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, etc... Stop wasting your valuable time trying to build an argument against the presence and prevailency of "threes" and look at the very limited quantity of number-referenced ideas being used by humanity in its many different subjects. Humanity is being forced by the deteriorating solar system to convey its perceptions into a very limited quantity of quantitatively described ideas. This usage is akin to the fact that our numbers are limited to the sequence of zero to nine. The English alphabet is limited to the letters A to Z. They are expressed limitations just as we find in the Periodic Table of Elements and the life spans of all living matter. Our human usage of numbers as means of referencing ideas is limited. This limitation is a survival mechanism which is shifting over time but still being expressed in our expressions of ideas which can be quantified. The three deteriorations I have spoken of on other pages are:
- The Sun is burning out.
- The Earth's rotation is slowing.
- The Moon is receding.
When will humans go extinct?
One science team might have the answer
Story by Bill Shannon
Fri, September 29, 2023 at 6:37 PM MDT
A supercomputer simulation showed that humanity might be long gone from Earth before the Sun even has a chance to expand, moving its habitable zone.
According to a paper published this week (Sept./Oct. 2023) on nature.com, humanity might only have 250 million years left as Earth forms a new supercontinent.
While scientists have warned about climate change, Earth;s temperature, and greenhouse gasses/emissions, it was time to see what might actually wipe out humanity with the help of a new supercomputer.
In the paper, a team from the University of Bristol said that while the Sun will naturally expand as it begins dying, eventually engulfing Earth in about two billion years, human life might not make it past the possible anarchy of what's been dubbed "Pangea Ultima." The simulation comes from the team of scientists feeding it data that's currently available about Earth, such as climate, ocean chemistry and tectonic plate movement.
The supercomputer predicted that Earth's tectonic plates would shift and merge over the next 250 million years, creating a new supercontinent that would create chaos with earthquakes, volcanoes, typhoons, and even temperature changes. "The newly-emerged supercontinent would effectively create a triple whammy, comprising the 1) continentality effect, 2) hotter sun and 3) more CO2 in the atmosphere, of increasing heat for much of the planet," Dr. Alexander Farnsworth told Unilad.
The paper goes on to say that in the 250 million years while Pangea Ultima forms, the Sun's energy will increase ~2.5% from what it emits today, making warmer temperatures on Earth and creating vast uninhabitable areas of the planet. According to the paper, humanity may not be able to adapt fast enough to deal with the extreme temperatures as we do now through sweating and cooling our bodies, but it's something that can't be ruled out.
Food sources are predicted to become scarce as the planet heats and plates shift, making survival difficult for mammal life.
In their own way, within the ability of species-specific physiology, all life forms are responding to the Sun- Earth- Moon deteriorations... whether or not you label them as deteriorations. Here's a short excerpt from an article about the rate of the Earth's rotation being recorded by the growth lines of coral:
...So why is the Earth slowing down in the first place? It has to do with the earth's relationship to the moon. "The moon used to be closer to us than it is now," Mayer said. "In the Silurian Period, the full moon would have looked a lot bigger on the horizon." When the Earth rotates, gravity pulls a bulge of ocean water toward the moon. That slow, sloshing water slows down the planet's spin by a tiny bit. And when the Earth slows, its rotational energy is transferred to the moon, causing the moon to move faster and pull away from the earth, centimeter by centimeter. And over the course of millions of years, these infinitesimal adjustments to the earth's rotation and the moon's distance add up, eventually changing the day and night that our planet experiences.
"Who'd have thunk that a fossil coral could tell you that your calendars change over geologic time?" mused Mayer. "That's one reason we collect these things at the Field. They show us how our planet changes"—in tiny, tiny differences that don't matter until they do.
How Ancient Coral Revealed the Changing Length of a Year
by Kate Golembiewski
Like animals sensitive to feeling vibrations of an earthquake before humans seem to be aware, humans are sensitive to the subtle reverberations of these three changes in the environment, if not others. Instead of saying we have an impression, a gut feeling, or some nuance of something taking place or is about to occur, we translate our impressions into representative illustrations attached to familiar ideas we may already have a distinct vocabulary or imagery for. For example, a mechanic may well render their perceptions into various mechanical terms just like a person steeped in a religion will use the vocabulary and ideas of their religion to express a given perception. All of us do this. If we don't have a more appropriate vocabulary and readily available stock of comparisons, analogies, metaphors and the like, we resort to using what is most common for us and have served us in other instances. The recurring usage of the "three" theme appears to be one such safe haven of expression for many people living in different environments. Other people may well use some other number pattern but all such number patterns when placed on the same page for comparison, exhibit a stark Conservation as an expression of a human cognitive limitation brought about as a survival mechanism in the face of an ongoing environmental deterioration, despite all the claims for some grand spirituality, or universal connectedness, or some other feel-good-about-myself interpretation. Human sensitivity expresses acknowledgement in our ideas. While some claim they know why a theme of threes occurs in fairy tales, speeches, stock market indices, DNA structure, atomic particle configurations, mathematics, superstitions, etc., they don't typically agree that all views are human-made views designed by a physiology subjected to changing environmental circumstances.
If we look at the few number patterns being expressed by humanity over time like we would tree rings and note the changes over time and setting, we might better determine the extent to which humanity is being affected by the changes in the Sun- Earth- Moon triplex. This is of course assuming you are willing to take into consideration that ideas do represent alterations in the environment and enumerated ideas can be a closer definition thereof, even if my interpretations are a bit crude for your personal liking.
While we of today note the seeming use of triads in ancient religions, this is not to say that ancient peoples were cognizant of this "three" theme usage. They did not have the vantage point we of today do by having multiple different religions having been cataloged together, just as we of today do not have the vantage point of realizing the limitation of quantities being used by humans for all their ideas. In other words, though myself and others have taken the time to create a catalog of threes, we do not see the same expenditure of time and effort to catalog ideas exhibiting a pattern-of-one, two, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, etc. However, we do find a few who make some measure of effort and are called those who practice Numerology... even though all Mathematicians are in some measure a Numerologist... in the sense of someone who studies patterns of numbers. If we did have people making collections of different number-identified ideas, it would then be much easier for some to realize that humanity does indeed practice a conservation of number with respect to how humans illustrate their perceptions.
Only by proving a catalog and watching the usage of "threes" and other number patterns over time... from generation to generation, from century to century, etc., will humanity get a better idea of which number patterns remain in use and those whose usage diminish, even though there may be some measure of being sustained at a low level. For example, though an interest in the number 7 may continue as a common orientation, its usage as a multiple application in different subjects can decrease over time. And even though I state this, there will be those who insist the value of 7 is important either because they personally like it, or their religion uses it, or some other isolated application is over-valued to support their ego.
There are several instances of "7" which occur and appear to remain such as the 7 colors of the color spectrum, 7 days of the week, 7 ages of the teen years (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19), and we could even describe the Earth as being in the seventh position if we were to count from Pluto inward instead of from the Sun outward. The difference being whether one counts left to right or right to left... if not vertically or diagonally. While you may not encounter the last two examples in another's list of sevens, it is only because I have thought of them first and they are not widely known.
It's no wonder that the value "7" was viewed as being of fundamental importance to those ancients who interpreted the presence of stars and their alignments as being of A Grand and Universal significance... particularly those recurring patterns such as seen in the Big Dipper with its seven stars and the grouping of stars called the seven sisters and alternatively labeled as the Pleiades, not to mention that early perceptions as to the quantity of planets was counted as seven: (Moon, Mercury, Venus, The Sun, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn). This was at a time when Astrology was deemed a key to unraveling the mysteries of the Universe and humanity's place therein. (Planets in Astrology)
Needless to say, there are those who retain some affinity for the number 7 and may have even made a collection of examples but are dismissive of the presence of other number patterns and do not fully appreciate how widespread and numerous are the occasions for other number patterns playing a role in diverse cognitive interests. However, let me emphasize again... out of the infinity of numbers at our human disposal, we are only using a handful with which we use to represent our interpretations of reality into compartmentalizations... or if you prefer... "chunks", akin to the chunking reduplications of utterances seen in infant babbling.
Some examples of a given number may endure for centuries, but this may not be the case for multiple other instances currently in use. The same goes for the usage of a "three" theme. But we won't know this for a fact unless we make a concerted effort to catalog occurrences from different subjects. While we can find different numbers being used in ads, the presence of a given number in some journalistic instances is questionable. For example, while one may encounter one journalist describing three people involved in an accident, another journalist might describe the same event with an other-than enumeration such as using the word "few". Or another describing the event as two killed and one seriously injured, though at a later time the person injured also died, but the fact that 3 died does not become referenced in someone else's description. They may instead simply say that all the people died and not present a specific number. Journalism is at times very wishy-washy and suppositional and must be questioned.
I do not consider the "three" to be some defined Universal theme since we are dealing with a species whose mind is connected to a physiology subjected to the deteriorations of its environment. (Yes, I am referring to the number 3 as a species, be it similarly viewed as some sort or organism that has take up residence in humans as well as all life forms if we consider the triplet code of DNA.) It is delusional to make such a rash interpretation. Nor do I see it as an expression of a Universal being, call it god or otherwise, despite the value cropping up in fundamental biology, physiology and atomic particle physics. It is far too easy for the human mind to become overwhelmed by a given quantity and quality and want to attach themselves to it as if by so doing they become a part of that which they think is great, wonderful, universal, etc., like some mathematicians do in the presence and usage of mathematics. To me, mathematics is little more than a species-specific form of scaffolding akin to the usage of a spider web by spiders, nests by birds, mounds by some termites, etc... Religion is another type of spider web, but one might argue this is true for any and all human subjects... being given more support when money, political power or military strength is appended.
Date of Origination: Sunday, 1st October 2023... 4:36 AMDate of Initial posting: Sunday, 1st October 2023... 7:48 AM
Updated Posting: Saturday, 13th January 2024... 10:53 AM