Importance of the Number 3

Happy Christian Nihilist
5 min readOct 19, 2023

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100+ reasons why the number 3 may be considered important:

  1. Three dimensions in space (length, width, and height)
  2. The Holy Trinity in many religions
  3. The three states of matter (solid, liquid, gas)
  4. Three primary colors (red, blue, yellow)
  5. The third planet from the sun (Earth)
  6. The three parts of a story (beginning, middle, end)
  7. The three branches of government are w3(executive, legislative, judicial)-
  8. Three days of mourning in Judaism
  9. Three gifts brought by the Magi to the baby Jesus in the Christian tradition
  10. The three wishes granted by a genie in folk tales
  11. The three parts of the brain (cerebrum, cerebellum, brainstem)
  12. Three primary macronutrients (carbohydrates, proteins, fats)
  13. Three degrees of adjectives (positive, comparative, superlative)
  14. Three major land masses (Africa, Asia, Europe)
  15. The three types of rock (igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic)
  16. The three types of learning styles (visual, auditory, kinesthetic)
  17. The three parts of the soul (mind, body, spirit)
  18. Three degrees of separation theory
  19. The three Fates in Greek mythology
  20. The three rings in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings
  21. Three Billy Goats Gruff in a fairy tale
  22. The three primary emotions (happiness, sadness, anger)
  23. Three strikes law in criminal justice
  24. Three primary steps in the scientific method (observation, hypothesis, experimentation)
  25. Three core values of many organizations (quality, service, innovation)
  26. Three types of friendships (casual, close, intimate)
  27. The three parts of a seed (embryo, endosperm, seed coat)
  28. The three primary economic systems (capitalism, socialism, communism)
  29. The three basic types of symbiotic relationships (mutualism,
  30. commensalism, parasitism)
  31. Three primary types of volcanic eruptions (effusive, explosive, phreatic)
  32. The three classical schools of thought in economics (classical, Keynesian, monetarist)
  33. The three core components of emotional intelligence (self-awareness, self-regulation, empathy)
  34. Three parts of the mind in psychology (conscious, unconscious, preconscious)
  35. The three primary sources of law (legislation, common law, equity)
  36. The three stages of the cell cycle (interphase, mitosis, cytokinesis)
  37. Three types of simple machines (lever, pulley, inclined plane)
  38. Three types of symbiotic relationships (mutualism, commensalism, parasitism)
  39. Three main parts of the ear (outer ear, middle ear, inner ear)
  40. Three parts of the backbone (cervical, thoracic, lumbar)
  41. The three basic laws of motion in physics
  42. Three core skills in interpersonal communication (listening, speaking, nonverbal communication)
  43. The three essential elements of a successful relationship (trust, communication, mutual respect)
  44. Three types of clouds (cumulus, stratus, cirrus)
  45. The three primary types of fossils (body fossils, trace fossils, mold and cast fossils)
  46. Three types of plate boundaries (divergent, conver
  47. Three types of resources (renewable, nonrenewable, finite)
  48. Three main parts of a nucleotide in DNA (phosphate, sugar, nitrogenous base)
  49. The three types of fossils (body, trace, mold and cast)
  50. Three primary stages of memory (encoding, storage, retrieval)
  51. The three stages of human development (infancy, childhood, adolescence)
  52. Three stages of sleep (light, deep, rapid eye movement)
  53. Three stages of grief (denial, anger, bargaining)
  54. Three main factors affecting climate (solar radiation, ocean currents, atmospheric conditions)
  55. The three types of electromagnetic radiation (radio, microwaves, infrared)
  56. Three main parts of the respiratory system (nose, bronchi, lungs)
  57. Three fundamental forces in physics (gravity, electromagnetism, strong and weak nuclear forces)
  58. Three main parts of the immune system (lymphocytes, cytokines, antibodies)
  59. Three types of symbiotic relationships (mutualism, commensalism, parasitism)
  60. Three parts of the Earth’s interior (crust, mantle, core)
  61. The three main types of rocks (igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic)
  62. The three primary types of galaxies (elliptical, spiral, irregular)
  63. The three main parts of a plant (root, stem, leaves)
  64. Three primary roles of money (medium of exchange, unit of account, store of value)
  65. The three main parts of the digestive system (mouth, esophagus, stomach)
  66. Three primary types of animal behavior (instinct, learned, voluntary)
  67. The three main parts of the ear (outer ear, middle ear, inner ear)
  68. The three R’s of the environment (reduce, reuse, recycle)
  69. Three primary sources of energy (fossil fuels, nuclear energy, renewable energy)
  70. The three main types of bonds (ionic, covalent, metallic)
  71. The three primary elements of art (line, shape, color)
  72. The three primary types of musical instruments (strings, brass, percussion)
  73. Three primary types of food (carbohydrates, proteins, fats)
  74. The three stages of a river (upper course, middle course, lower course)
  75. The three primary types of levers (first class, second class, third class)
  76. The three main parts of the skeletal system (bones, cartilage, ligaments)
  77. Three primary causes of stress (environmental, physiological, psychological)
  78. Three main types of landforms (mountains, plains, valleys)
  79. The three main types of earthquakes (tectonic, volcanic, collapse)
  80. The three primary types of bonds (ionic, covalent, metallic)
  81. Three primary types of financial markets (stock, bond, derivative)
  82. The three main types of markets (monopolistic, oligopolistic, perfect competition)
  83. Three primary types of muscles (skeletal, smooth, cardiac)
  84. The three main parts of the circulatory system (heart, blood vessels, blood)
  85. Three primary types of bonds (ionic, covalent, metallic)
  86. The three primary types of angles (acute, right, obtuse)
  87. Three primary types of plant growth (annual, biennial, perennial)
  88. The three main types of rocks (igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic)
  89. The three primary stages of photosynthesis (light-dependent reactions, Calvin cycle, carbon fixation)
  90. Three main branches of science (physical, biological, social)
  91. The three main types of clouds (cumulus, stratus, cirrus)
  92. The three primary types of tension (compression, tension, torsion)
  93. Three primary types of soils (clay, loam, sand)
  94. The three main types of earthquakes (tectonic, volcanic, collapse)
  95. Three primary types of infections (viral, bacterial, fungal)
  96. The three primary types of reactions (endothermic, exothermic, redox)
  97. The three primary types of vertebrates (mammals, birds, reptiles)
  98. The three primary types of ecosystems (terrestrial, aquatic, marine)
  99. Three primary types of ecological interactions (competition, predation, symbiosis)
  100. The three primary types of electromagnetic waves (radio waves, microwaves, infrared)
  101. Three primary types of sound waves (longitudinal, transverse, surface)
  102. The Hebrew alphanumeric code Gematria translates to ‘Father’ (Gematria — from the Greek word geometria — refers to a process by which numerical values are ascribed to the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. As seen in the chart below, each letter, from aleph to tav, has a specific numerical value. As a simple example, the Hebrew word אב (father) would have a numerical value of three (1+2=3).
  103. Holy Trinity — One God in 3 persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
  104. Mind, Soul, and Body
  105. Jesus began his ministry at age 30, which lasted roughly 3 years
  106. Christ crucifed on Calvary, a scene of 3 crosses
  107. “It is finished” — 3 words
  108. Christ rose on the third day
  109. “God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob”
  110. Time is perceived in 3 parts; past, present, and future
  111. In geometry, the incircle or inscribed circle of a triangle is the largest circle that can be contained in the triangle; it touches (is tangent to) the three sides.
  112. Mathematics has 9 digits (3x3x3)
  113. The smallest unit for determining a pattern is 3
  114. In literature, we use the techniques of first, second, and third person
  115. In chemistry, H2O, the life giving element has 3 molecules
  116. In composition, the rule of thirds guarantees a strong picture
  117. The spine has 33 stacked vertebrae
  118. Subatomic particles: proton, neutron, electron
  119. On average, the human brain can process up to 3 items in a single glance
  120. There are 3 billion base pairs in the human genome

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Happy Christian Nihilist

Poetry. Prose. All the hits so far. Don’t expect too much. Musings on theology. Thoughts on life, death, and the dash betwixt and between.