~~~ A World Without The Number Three : 3 Reasons why We Need Three ~~~

~~~Shapeshifter32~~~
3 min readJul 9, 2024

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~~~~~In the bustling, vibrant town of Numeralia, numbers were as essential as air. They infused life with order, balance, & a semblance of sanity. Yet, on one otherwise unremarkable day, the number 3 inexplicably vanished.

~~~~~It started subtly, with mathematicians at the Numeralia Institute of Arithmetic noticing peculiar anomalies in their equations. Professor Pythagora, a stoic figure with a triangular beard, was the first to sense something was amiss. His famed theorem seemed oddly truncated, as if a crucial component had been siphoned into the ether.

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~~~~~”Where did my hypotenuse go?" he muttered, scratching his head with a quill that now had 4 sides.

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~~~~~Across town, the grocer, Ms. Prime, found herself in a quandary. Her apples, once neatly arranged in rows of 3, had mysteriously aligned into groups of 2 or 4.

~~~~~”Must be those pesky square roots again," she grumbled, though deep down she knew this was something far more sinister.

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~~~~~As the day unfolded, the impact of the missing 3 became undeniably absurd. In the local diner, patrons were bewildered as their usual trio of pancakes morphed into duos & quartets. The town’s beloved tricycle race became a peculiar spectacle of toddlers on bicycles with training wheels or quadricycles, resulting in a comical mishmash of wheels & confusion.

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~~~~~”The town’s mayor, an astute & somewhat numerically obsessed individual named Fibonacci, called an emergency council meeting. The assembly hall, normally echoing with discussions in threes, now resonated with a dissonant cacophony of duos & quartets.

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~~~~~”This is preposterous!" declared Fibonacci, pounding the table with his 4-fingered fist. "We need answers!"

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~~~~~Enter Dr. Tetragon, a mathematician with a penchant for the peculiar. Known for his eccentric theories, he strode into the hall with an air of nonchalant authority.

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~~~~~”Citizens of Numeralia," he began, adjusting his spectacles that now had 4 lenses. "We are witnessing a phenomenon known as Tria Non Existus. It’s a rare numerical anomaly where the essence of 3 is eradicated from reality."

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~~~~~”But why?" cried out a voice from the crowd.

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~~~~~Dr. Tetragon cleared his throat, "Legend has it that the number 3, feeling underappreciated compared to the glamorous 7 or the enigmatic 0, decided to embark on a sabbatical. A cosmic holiday, if you will."

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~~~~~The crowd erupted in a mix of laughter & disbelief.

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~~~~~”What can we do?" asked Fibonacci, his numerical equilibrium clearly disrupted.

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~~~~~”Fear not!" proclaimed Dr. Tetragon. "To coax back the number 3, we must show it the appreciation it deserves. We must create a celebration, a festival of Trium, if you will, filled with songs of threes, dances of trios, & triangular treats."

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~~~~~And so, Numeralia prepared for the most extravagant festival in its history. They decorated the town with triangles of all sizes, composed symphonies in 3/4 time, & baked cookies in perfect triangular shapes. The entire town buzzed with the energy of a trinity in celebration.

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~~~~~On the day of the festival, the townspeople gathered in the central square, their anticipation palpable. As the clock struck 2 (since 3 o’clock was currently off the menu), they raised their voices in unison:

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~~~~~”Oh mighty 3, return to thee! We honor thy presence, in harmony!"

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~~~~~There was a moment of silence, followed by a shimmering in the air. Suddenly, a trio of bright lights danced in the sky, converging into the number 3, which glowed brilliantly before settling into its rightful place in the universe.

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~~~~~Numbers snapped back to normal. Equations balanced, tricycles regained their third wheels, & the townspeople rejoiced, hugging in threesomes, savoring their tri-cornered cookies.

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~~~~~Mayor Fibonacci, now visibly relieved, addressed the crowd. "Let this be a lesson to us all. Every number, no matter how small, has its place & purpose. Let us never again take our numerical friends for granted."

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~~~~~As Numeralia resumed its numerical normalcy, the tale of the vanished 3 became a beloved legend, a humorous reminder of the chaos that ensues when one forgets the value of every part of the whole.

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~~~~~And so, with a newfound appreciation for all things triadic, Numeralia thrived, each day counting its blessings...in threes.

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https://medium.com/@apeironkosmos/all-of-my-links-a3b516484cc2

~~~XXXII~~~

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~~~Shapeshifter32~~~

Auto-Didactic, Neuro-Divergent, Intellectual, Eccentric Who Loves Art, Bach, House Music, Chemistry, Spiritualism, Neuroscience, AI, Maths, God, Panpsychism 32