THE PHILOSOPHY OF 3
Have you ever wondered why the Genie always asks for 3 wishes?

This was the question that has always intrigued me. What is it about the number 3 that it has given rise to such a huge pattern throughout history and continues till date? But, who gets time to think about such a trivial thing in such a busy life. Today, somehow my inquisitiveness took over and I set out to answer the question. Without giving it further thought one quick example that comes to mind is a scene from a sitcom called ‘How I Met Your Mother’. A character named Barney Stinson was explaining to his friend as to why is it important to call up a girl after the first meet exactly after 3 days. He gives the example of Jesus, saying that Jesus had waited exactly 3 days to come back to life, thus indicating the importance of 3.
The topic of Jesus shifts my attention to another common phrase i.e. ‘In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit’. Exactly 3 parts. And it’s not just Christianity but every religion shows this phenomena. Hinduism has 3 deities called together as the Trimurti i.e. Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara. Even in Islam, whenever a marriage is taking place, the bride and the groom have to say ‘Kabool Hai’ exactly 3 times. And for a divorce to happen the man should say the word ‘Talaakh’ 3 times.
Even a greater number of examples lie in the field of children’s stories / fairytales:
Goldilocks and the 3 Bears, 3 Billy Goats Gruff, 3 Blind Mice, 3 Little Pigs and so on.
And it’s not just in the names but even the stories showcase the phenomenon:
Snow White receives 3 visits from her wicked stepmother. In ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’, Jack climbs the beanstalk thrice. Rumpelstiltskin spins thrice for the heroine and lets her guess his name thrice over a period of 3 days.
The entertainment industry of the modern world has followed this phenomenon:
3 Idiots, 3 Stooges, 3 Musketeers, Three’s Company, etc.
And it is not only about explicitly showcasing the number 3. Names of movies like ‘The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly’ and ‘Pati, Patni aur Woh’ have 3 parts to it. And again, it’s not just the name, but even stories implicitly have 3 elements in them or 3 characters as protagonists. For example, the movie ‘Dil Chahta Hai’ had 3 protagonists whereas the movie ‘Yuva’ had 3 inter-connected stories. The famous series of ‘Harry Potter’ also had 3 main characters. A famous dialogue from the movie ‘Prestige’ says, ‘Every magic trick has 3 parts or acts – the Pledge, the Turn and the Prestige’.
But am I trying to find logic only in mythology and fiction? I don’t think so. And I’m sure Caesar would have agreed with me after addressing the crowd with ‘Friends, Romans and Countrymen’. Even Michelle Obama would agree with me since she is a huge follower of this phenomenon (or at least those who prepare her speech are). In one of her speeches she talks about her relationship with her husband as being ‘so young, so in love and so in debt’. She says when it comes to Mr. Obama’s ‘character, conviction and heart’, the presidency had not changed him. Even when we want to stress on a particular aspect during speaking, we say a word exactly 3 times to focus on it. For example, when Tony Blair said ‘Education, Education, Education’, people actually understood the impact on the third instance.
Apparently, there is theory that backs all of this. In the literary world it is called the ‘Rule of Three’. Writers use it very often. It says, we can remember only 3 things, at point 4 we stop listening. Sometimes called ‘Trebling’, this rule is a pattern used in stories and jokes. For example, if someone asks you how he should come to your place, you reply by saying that, ‘Go down to the corner, turn left and get lost’. So, while the first 2 parts show normal behavior or build the tension, the third part releases it by introducing a twist. “Omne Trium Perfectum”, a phrase in Latin, means ‘everything that comes in threes is perfect or every set of three is complete.
But, does this quench my inquisitiveness?
No, it does not. It actually fuels it. Because, it is not the rules or the science behind all this that intrigues me but the similarity in the sub consciousness of the masses. If people had been subconsciously using 5 elements everywhere then this rule would be called the ‘Rule of Five’. So, since it is the philosophy that leads to the rule, and not the other way round, I would rather study the philosophy than the rule. Unfortunately, there is no documented explanation and neither could I come up with one, so I think it’s best to leave it here.
But, now I know that if a Genie asks for my 3 wishes, what would one of them be.