Organizing Threes

Information scientists tell us we use concepts, schemas and scripts, and personal theories to organize and store knowledge.  Looking at the library of knowledge that is Threes, we can conclude that Threes can be catalogued as:

Threes of detection: such as Newton’s laws, the Fibonacci series, and the theory of relativity.  They invite discovery. 

Threes of invention: such as the unifying concept of the Holy Trinity, commercial messages to sell, and comedy to entertain us.  They suggest structure.

Threes of convention: to promote conformity and compliance such as plumb, level and square, the three-light traffic signal, and “do not lie, cheat or steal.”  They provide standards. 

We think in threes.  We remember in threes.  We communicate in threes.  The amazing thread of threes runs distinctly, delicately and sometimes subtly through the fabric of ancient, classical and modern society. 

from Threes, Chapter 1, “The Wonder of Threes ”  

Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle: The Big Three in Greek Philosophy

Much of Western philosophy finds its basis in the thoughts and teachings of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. You can't begin a study of world philosophy without talking about the Big Three ancient Greek philosophers.

Socrates: Athens' street-corner philosopher

Socrates was the big-city philosopher in ancient Athens. Accused and convicted of corrupting the youth, his only real crime was embarrassing and irritating a number of important people. His punishment was death.

Famous quote: "The unexamined life is not worth living."

Plato: The philosopher who would be king

Plato became an enthusiastic and talented student of Socrates and wrote famous dialogues featuring his teacher verbally grappling with opponents. He believed in the pre-existence and immortality of the soul, holding that life is nothing more than the imprisonment of the soul in a body. In addition to the physical world, there is a heavenly realm of greater reality consisting in Forms, Ideals, or Ideas (such as Equality, Justice, Humanity, and so on).

As his crowning achievement: He wrote a famous treatise (The Republic) on the ideal society, in which he expressed the thought that a philosopher, of all people, who should be king (big surprise!).

Aristotle: A long walk to the Golden Mean

Aristotle was Plato's best student. He went on to become the very well-paid tutor of Alexander the Great—probably the highest paid philosopher in history. Aristotle started his own philosophical school when he was 50 years old. Although he lived only ten more years, he produced nearly a thousand books and pamphlets, only a few of which have survived.

A key theme in Aristotle's thought is that happiness is the goal of life. The founder of logical theory, Aristotle believed that the greatest human endeavor is the use of reason in theoretical activity. One of his best known ideas was his conception of "The Golden Mean”—"avoid extremes," the counsel of moderation in all things.

See http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/socrates-plato-and-aristotle-the-big-three-in-gree.html

The Big Three Nutrients for Better Health

By Leigh Erin Connealy, M.D.

To function, the human body needs the nutrients in food. Your digestive system breaks down what you eat and delivers the nutrients via the bloodstream to cells throughout your body. Carbohydrates, fats, and proteins are key nutrients we obtain from food, along with fiber, water, vitamins, and minerals.

But what exactly are carbohydrates, fats, and proteins, and why are they so important? Let’s take a closer look at each one:

Carbohydrates are sugars and starches found in foods like vegetables, fruit, cereal, sugar, pasta, bread, rice, and beans. Often called carbs, they are the body’s primary fuel source. One key to healthy eating is understanding the difference between favorable carbs (vegetables and fruits) and unfavorable carbs (sugar, candy, cookies, pies, cakes, and refined foods like white rice).

Fats, like carbohydrates, have unfairly acquired a bad reputation. Fats are essential to good health, and it’s not an overstatement to say we cannot live without them. Like carbohydrates, fats provide energy, and some fats are better for us than others. Our bodies cannot produce essential fatty acids (EFAs), so we must obtain them from food or supplements containing omega-3s and omega-6s. I’ll explain these in more detail shortly.

Protein is an essential nutrient found in every cell of the body. Your body requires a steady supply of protein to create new cells and repair old ones. In addition, protein helps to regulate many bodily functions, playing various roles, such as enzymes and hormones responsible for certain chemical reactions. Protein can also yield energy during a shortage of fats and carbs. 

The Big Three Economic Indicators

By Jim Graham

Traders are always trying to understand the factors that cause the market to rise and fall. The truth is that there are a multitude of factors, and millions of investors make decisions that impact the market every day. Corporate earnings and news, political news, and general market sentiment can all move the market. But economic factors have the most influence on long-term market performance.

There is a lot of economic data available on the US economy, and almost every day some economic report or another is being released. When reading these releases I always try to assess the importance of each item and how it fits into the current economic situation. For the most important reports, especially those that may impact an industry that contains companies you are trading, it is often better to not rely solely on the analysis offered by financial journalists but to look at and try to understand the original sources.

Of all the economic indicators, the three most significant for the overall stock market are inflation, gross domestic product (GDP), and labor market data. I always try to keep in mind where these three are in relation to the current stage of the economic cycle. That gives me a framework to work with that allows me to estimate how any individual piece of economic data may affect these three indicators, and to then project its probable effect on the stock market as a whole.

Threes in Religion and Mythology

Chapter 4, “Threes in Religion and Mythology,”  in the book, Threes, is also the most popular mini-e-book in the series. 

Here are the contents of that chapter/mini-e-book:

Monotheism

The Significance of Abraham

The Holy Trinity

Three Notable Triplets 

Celtic Triads

Three Graces

Raja, Hatha and Bhakti

Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva

Three Fates, Three Furies and Three Pure Ones

Faith, Hope and Charity

Religion and Moral Courage

Copernicus, Kepler and Galileo

Lamarck, Darwin and Wallace

Three Arguments for the Existence of God 

I use long stories to illustrate the chapter focus.  In Chapter 4, for instance, I have narrated Darwin’s development of the theory of evolution and Galileo’s theory of a heliocentric "solar" system.  Both scientists struggled mightily against the church. 

Matter, Energy and Life

Three elements of matter, energy and life reinforce the concept that we all exist in an Earth-bound web that’s so intricately intertwined and interdependent that imbalances in one area can upset the dynamics of the entire system. 

Each element that is vital for life exists on Earth in a closed loop of cyclical changes.  From a systems point of view, Earth is essentially a closed system with respect to matter.  The functioning of our planet relies on a constant input of energy from the sun.  This energy leaves Earth in the form of heat flowing to outer space.  From a systems point of view, Earth is an open system with respect to energy.  A vast and intricate network of relationships connects all Earth's organisms with each other and with the cycles of matter and the flows of energy.  From a systems point of view, Earth is a networked system with respect to life.   

from Threes, Chapter 3, “Threes in Science”  

Stephen Hawking Time

Stephen Hawking (1942—) is one of the world's renowned theoretical physicists.  His view of time relies on earlier thinking by Newton and Einstein.  Hawking visualizes time as three arrows: the thermodynamic arrow, the cosmological arrow, and the psychological arrow.  The concept of these arrows helps explain why we see time as moving forward and what this flow of time actually is in terms of the expansion and contraction of the universe.  These arrows help distinguish the past from the future, and they give time a direction. 

“In our current state of the universe, all these arrows are pointing in the same direction, however, this will not always be the case, according to Hawking.  The thermodynamic arrow is derived from the second law of thermodynamics, which states that in any closed system, disorder (entropy) always increases with time.  Take an example of a glass falling from a table.  The glass begins in a state of heightened order; it is all in one piece.  As time passes, the glass hits the floor, and shatters into many pieces, increasing the disorder, or entropy, tremendously.”

Read more at Threes, Chapter 3, “Threes in Science”