Art and Threes

Artists have used three subjects extensively in paintings with names such as “Three Coke Bottles” by Andy Warhol, “Three Trees in Autumn” by Claude Monet, “The Three Graces” by Rubens, “Adoration of the Trinity” by Albrecht Durer, “Abraham and the Three Angels”, “The Three Archangels,” “The Three Ages of Man,” “The Three Flags,” “The Three Umbrellas,” “Three Trout,” “Three Ducks,” “Three Spheres,” and “Three Sandwiches,” among others.  There are more on a long list. 

Renaissance artists became enamored of the application of mathematics to their art.  “Few famous painters in history have also been gifted mathematicians.  However, when we speak of a ‘Renaissance man,’ we mean a person who exemplifies the Renaissance ideal of wide-ranging culture and learning.  Accordingly, three of the best Renaissance painters, the Italians Piero della Francesca (ca. 1412-1492) and Leonardo da Vinci and the German Albrecht Durer, also made interesting contributions to mathematics.  Not surprisingly perhaps, the mathematical investigations of all three painters were related to the Golden Ratio,” wrote Mario Livio in his book The Golden Ratio.      

The Tipping Point has Threes

Malcolm Gladwell, author of the best-selling The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, contends the Tipping Point is determined by three factors.  The first, the Law of the Few, identifies three agents of change who are responsible for moving to and across The Tipping Point.  These change agents are connectors or those individuals who are skilled at networking; mavens or those to whom others go for information, and salesmen or those with charisma and personality to persuade others.  The second is the Stickiness Factor, which is determined by the content of the message and how it resonates in a society.  Gladwell’s third factor in reaching the Tipping Point is the Power of Context.  Context is a critical part of any communication that seeks to educate or persuade.  It relies on the local conditions and circumstances for its power.  There’s more in my book.     

Gross National Unhappiness

Three weeks ago I mentioned the three keys to happiness (see below).  Happiness is a subject I address in my book in several places, using in one of those the example of the country of Bhutan that inaugurated Gross National Happiness 40 years ago as a measure of the welfare of the country. 

This week U.S. Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke, acknowledged the grinding pressure of a weak recovery on the happiness of our own citizens when he said, “We should seek better and more-direct measurements of economic well-being.”  Further he said this is the “ultimate objective of our policy decisions.”  Persistently weak Gross Domestic Product and employment figures give new meaning to Bernanke’s “dismal science.”  As our chief economist he should pause to consider even more our gross national unhappiness. 

Take just a minute to check out Neil Pasricha's TEDxToronto talk on the "Three A's of Awesome."  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajKMkIXN1eg