Threes Form Patterns
I have been fascinated by threes for a long time. The world is arranged, in part, by threes. Often only three. Not three or four or more. We organize our thoughts by three ideas because three of them are easy to remember. Three ideas form a pattern. Sometimes those patterns are intangible. Such as three laws. Three rules of thumb. Three principles. Three classes. Three categories. Three ideas that support a point of view. It’s uncanny. Laws of nature contain three elements only. Religions are full of threes. We create commercial messages that are loaded with three selling features or benefits. Sayings such as “fat, dumb and happy,” “this, that and the other thing,” “woulda, coulda, shoulda,” are ingrained in our culture. Humor depends on threes—the set up, anticipation and the punch line. Sometimes those patterns are tangible. The modern traffic signal with its green, yellow and red lenses, each with meaning to motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians, fire in a predictable and never-changing order to signal proceed, slow down and stop when lighted in sequence. Using threes to describe or unify is not a new idea; it’s been around a long time. More to come. What threes have you seen?
I have been fascinated by threes for a long time. The world is arranged, in part, by threes. Often only three. Not three or four or more. We organize our thoughts by three ideas because three of them are easy to remember. Three ideas form a pattern. Sometimes those patterns are intangible. Such as three laws. Three rules of thumb. Three principles. Three classes. Three categories. Three ideas that support a point of view. It’s uncanny. Laws of nature contain three elements only. Religions are full of threes. We create commercial messages that are loaded with three selling features or benefits. Sayings such as “fat, dumb and happy,” “this, that and the other thing,” “woulda, coulda, shoulda,” are ingrained in our culture. Humor depends on threes—the set up, anticipation and the punch line. Sometimes those patterns are tangible. The modern traffic signal with its green, yellow and red lenses, each with meaning to motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians, fire in a predictable and never-changing order to signal proceed, slow down and stop when lighted in sequence. Using threes to describe or unify is not a new idea; it’s been around a long time. More to come. What threes have you seen?
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