Portraits of Threes

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Studying the "threes" phenomena is a perspective of reality from different vantage points that we alternatively describe as academic subjects, hobbies, sports, gaming, imagination, etc... While some of them such as writing, survival skills, and exercise routinely describe some "rule of three", others do not but nonetheless rely on one or more references involving a "three" description, though most often most of us are oblivious to our usage thereof. For example, we choose one of three gasoline fuels for our vehicles (diesel is a fuel oil: Gas-oil vrs Gasoline), hold a pen or pencil with three fingers, end a sentence with one of three punctuations (period- question mark- exclamation point), count time by seconds- minutes- hours and/or days/weeks/months... days/months/years, etc...

Fortunately, we have those interested in the labeled visual arts such as art, photography, stage craft, etc., who have provided us with a concrete tell-tale orientation to "threes" by a so-named reference called the Rule-of-Thirds... (though most subjects are different kinds of visual arts dealing expressly with visualization such as in mathematics, physics, philosophy, etc...). Let us look at a few references dealing with the origin and idea of their stated "rule-of-thirds":

Rule of thirds in Photography

Rule of three in Painting

Rule of threes in various design genres
  • Rule of Thirds Origin by Richard Schneider
    • The rule of thirds is a compositional tool used in photography and other visual arts. It posits that a visual composition is most pleasing to the eye when its compositional elements conform to an imaginary set of lines that divide the frame into equal thirds, both horizontally and vertically. The origins of this rule trace back to John Thomas Smith’s 1797 book “Remarks on Rural Scenery” where Smith coined the term, discussing the balance of light and dark in a painting. The rule of thirds was not initially a photographic concept.
  • Rule of Thirds Explanation
    • This rule started in Renaissance art and was improved by William Hogarth in the 18th century. Now, photographers and designers use it to make visually appealing works. It helps avoid centering, leading to more dynamic arrangements.
  • Wikipedia: Rule of Thirds
    • The expression "rule of thirds" was first written down by John Thomas Smith in 1797. In his book Remarks on Rural Scenery, Smith quotes a 1783 work by Sir Joshua Reynolds, in which Reynolds discusses, in unquantified terms, the balance of dark and light in a painting. John Thomas Smith then continues with an expansion on the idea, naming it the "Rule of thirds":
      • Two distinct, equal lights, should never appear in the same picture : One should be principal, and the rest subordinate, both in dimension and degree: Unequal parts and gradations lead the attention easily from part to part, while parts of equal appearance hold it awkwardly suspended, as if unable to determine which of those parts is to be considered as the subordinate. "And to give the utmost force and solidity to your work, some part of the picture should be as light, and some as dark as possible: These two extremes are then to be harmonized and reconciled to each other." (Reynolds' Annot. on Du Fresnoy.)
  • History About the Golden Ratio and Rule of Thirds by Nando Harmsen
  • For the origin of the rule of thirds, we have to travel in time towards 1797. At that time, a certain Sir Joshua Reynolds taught at the Royal Academy of Arts in London, mentioning in his discourses how a painting works best when the use of light and dark has a ratio of approximately 1/3:2/3.
  • There was never any mentioning of a rule of thirds, until an English painter called John Thomas Smith came up with the rule after reading the discourses of Sir Joshua Reynolds. He took the 1/3:2/3 division even further and said it should be used for everything in a composition.
  • The Rule of Thirds in Art by Barry John Raybould, M.A.
    • The origins of the rule of thirds goes back to classical Greek Architecture and Renaissance paintings.
  • Bending the Rule of Thirds by Shaan Mojo
    • The rule of thirds is the most well-known rule used in painting and photography, and is one of the first principles taught in design theory. When applying ROT, the artist will place the focus point of the image along one of the "third lines", or on one of the intersections of the "third lines". The rule of thirds is in contrast with what some photographers call “the Kodak rule”, in which all subjects are captured in the dead center of the frame (Antunes, 2017). In another variation of the rule, the artist will fill two thirds of the frame with one element, and one thirds with another element – water and sky for example (Amirshah, Hayn-Leichsenring, Denzler, & Redies, 2014).
  • Rules, schmules... thoughts on The Rule of Thirds by Karen Lynn Ingalls
    • ...composition is not all about The Rule of Thirds. It's about what works in a painting. It's a much more practical matter.

Let me say something about those who are inclined to reject the "Rule of Thirds". It reminds me of adolescents who are rebelling against some perceived "status quo" (aimilar to the 19th and 20th century "Establishment" reference) so that they might effect some new-found originality by adopting what they think is an acceptable and necessary Lazifaire attitude towards a pattern of thinking they think is to restrictive to some notion of freelance creativity and originality of thought to be found only in the excursions of drawing or painting outside the lines (so to speak). Nature, at least from the human perspective, has and does make the same attempt. Yet, again and again it relies on some formula of the "three" as a useful pattern... without which there might be no life due to its presence on a 3rd planet and no other place... as far as we can presently tell in the current time period.

No less, we might look up the "Rule of Thirds" as a cognitive exercise taking place in multiple subjects. For example, Nature uses it in the very nature of having a triplet code in DNA. We use it to describe human pregnancy having three trimesters. We see it in physics with the 3 large particles (neutrons- protons- electrons). We see it when holding a pen or pencil with 3 fingers. We see it when purchasing 1 of the 3 varieties of gasoline (diesel is a fuel oil). We see it in the 3 divisions of the US government (Legislative- Judicial- Executive). And let us take a look at a List of threes in anatomy. The Rule of thirds in art, photography, speech writing, Fairy tales, etc., is barely scratching the surface of such a phenomena which society as a whole is refusing to take a serious look at without all the nonsense imported from the recurring disparagements of Psychology, Mathematics, Business, Education... as well as the currencies of idiocy provided by religion, Eastern philosophy, Hindu metaphysics, and the various pseudo-"sciences" like Numerology, Astrology, Tarot cards, Crystal balls, Ouija boards, superstition, etc...

A study of the "Threes Phenomena" is not as simple as collecting 3-part examples from one or more subjects. Even though history is replete with multiple examples from different venues, most of the practitioners of these research investigations do not publicly permit themselves to indulge in the use of making parallels within their subject, much less between different subjects, by using number references; for fear of being labeled a person who is indulging in Numerology, even though the use of numbers is permitted in instances of comparison such as comparative anatomy, comparative sports records, comparative economics, comparative military strengths, etc...

While Mathematics is Numerology, it is a venue of perception and thinking involving strict rules and an historical practice of application for multiple practical uses. Conventional Numerology has not achieved this level of Maturity due to its practitioners, and not because of the basic craft itself. Far too many get-rich-quick, manipulate-the-public, con artists gravitate to Numerology, Astrology, Crystalology (gem stone-ology), Wicca, Paganism, Palmistry, etc., because the otherwise actual sensitivities and sensibilities of such people all too frequently turn towards some pseudo-scientific mumbo-jumbo of unrealistic models of presumed power of divination. They don't see their interest as being that akin to the stage of development the consciousness of earlier humans passed through. In other words, many people apparently have a consciousness which appears to develop along a course resembling that of humanity over several ages, as if their particular mindset is following a step-wise historical trail of human thinking over the centuries of human existence... but don't allow themselves to develop further in their respective potentiality and instead get overwhelmed by some stage of development in their consciousness which suggests they have some gift and perhaps purpose no one else has... just like many people in the past experienced.

It's as if their brain is following a sequence of developmental events similar to that experienced by distinct achievements of overall humanity, but they get stuck in a given episode of past orientation and acumen, such as an age where divination was ripe for usage and exploitation of the public. And they can't free themselves from it because they are in one or more circumstances that their stage of orientation has been fashioned into an implement conducive for a semblance of survival in their given situation(s).

This is why Numerology, Astrology, Witchcraft (Wicca), Paganism, etc., has not matured along a course of development that we see in Astronomy, Mathematics, Biology, Anthropology, Chemistry, Botany, Animal Husbandry, Medicine, Food preparation, etc... Such practitioners of the so-labeled "pseudo-sciences" have not permitted themselves to indulge in the collective development of their potentialities, and instead simply recreate old ideas dressed up in modern garb, gestures, and language. Instead of using their intelligence to reinvent their craft, they use it to persist in maintaining old traditions and ideas that they presume their personalized insight will enable them to recreate some forgotten, hidden or overlooked mystery, power, or purpose; if only they could discover the actual code which they interpret and describe as some sort of secret incantation, passageway, chant, recital, ritual or other devise they supposedly divine as being able to help them achieve the recreation of or authentically new ideological orientation.

Mathematics is a grownup version of an old study of numbers previously labeled as Numerology. Chemistry is a grownup version of Alchemy. Astrology is a grownup variation of Astrology. Look at Present day studies in History, Philosophy, Literature, Botany, Metallurgy, Physics, Medicine, Pharmacology, etc., and you will see earlier stages of hit-and-miss, trial-and-tribulations, back-to-the-drawing-board excursions for everyone of their fledgling efforts in pursuit of one or another believed-in truth or discovery of advancement. Religions and Asian philosophies of old being practiced today are ancient models of pseudo-scientific thinking about different orientations of reality which continue to be stuck on the treadmill of metaphysics... where supposition reigns supreme in the valleys, jungles, deserts, deserted islands, ocean-side cul de sac enclaves, and mountainous citadels of cultic beliefdom where testability is either outlawed or relegated to "conjectural transparencies" akin to traditions where the public dismisses the view about a naked king parading through the streets.

Every single "serious" study from any subject retains traces of their earliest beginnings, because human consciousness revisits the early trails of brain development in varying ways and measures that most people do not consciously detect. But some of us do. Not necessarily as precisely as others in given circumstances, but at least in our efforts of acknowledging the existence of such a path being actively available to peruse and traverse along both consciously and unconsciously. Parallel observation of behaviors with jungle primates gives some hint of the trail, but so can earlier biological formations if we permit such excursions of consideration. But such venues of discussion are not the primary intent of the present page. It is one in which different models of perception, of perspective, if not only presumption... involving the "three" is being undertaken. With this said, let us take a look at a few examples knowing that the cataloguing of such examples is but a simple beginning in the study of the threes phenomena that I am inclined to label as Trichotomization:

  • Fairy Tales:
    • Old king Cole and his fiddlers three.
    • Childe Rowland, 3rd bend in a road.
    • Rumpelstiltskin name reveled on 3rd day.
    • 3 Little Pigs, 3 little kittens lost their mittens...
    • 3 Bears (goldilocks) 3 billy goats gruff... etc...
  • Greek/Roman Mythology: 3 Fates, 3 Furies, 3 headed Cerebus... etc...
  • Ancient Egyptian triads
    • The Osirian (or Abydos) triad of Osiris (husband), Isis (wife), and Horus (son)
    • The Theban triad of Amun, Mut and Khonsu
    • The Memphite triad of Ptah, Sekhmet and Nefertem
    • etc...
  • Superstitions, urban legends, cultural idioms, spiritual references:

And before the reader makes the argument that they could make a list of examples using some other number or geometric form, let's establish the fact that those of us seriously interested in the "three" are well aware of other patterns as well as the typical disparagements levied against us by the field of:

  • Psychology, by calling the behavior of this type of collecting an expression of some obsession and/or compulsion.
  • Mathematics, recurringly referring to it as Numerology.
  • Religion, underlying reference and reverence for the Metaphysical and sacred.

Such interpretations are both irrelevant and particularly naive when the currency of updated information is taken into account and evaluated with an enlarged vocabulary and grasp of information from multiple sources not restricted to traditional compilations and interpretations of "threes" which often did exhibit some character trait that the foregoing 3 fields of study expressed their individual and collective opinions about.

Present day investigations into the "threes" phenomena are several generations removed from the nonsense which once inhabited the thoughts of early thinkers along such a pattern that one might alternatively label Tripartition of Trichotomization. Indeed, we use a different vocabulary and landscape of investigative toolage unlike the former research enthusiasts who could not grasp any relevance beyond simplistic religion, mythology, mathematics, culture and other genres of intellectual toolage akin to basket weaving and stone flaking, if not the simple art forms and formulas found on cave walls, grave sites, and burial mounds/chambers. Suffice it to say that those of the present day "threes" community are heading in the direction of pushing the noses and tongue-wiped lips of Religion, Mathematics, and Psychology into the piles of feces and urine they have managed to force the publics of the world to worship while they conducted their collective and individual campaigns of mind-twisted bloodletting, while Philosophy, Anthropology, Astronomy, Medicine, Education, Business, Government, Sociology, and Political Science have stood by placing bets on both losers and winners... all for the sake of individualized profiteering... along with the Nefarious LGBTQ horde of bushwhackers and confidence scammers peddling their various models of totemic Ponzi schemes akin to the tricks used by early religions to manipulate era-specific publics with their respective indulgences born from ignorance and vulnerabilities induced by privations and salacious provocations towards impulsiveness.

The following links are some examples of different kinds of portraits/sculptures/landscapes/sketches involving a "Threes" perspective. They are provided for those of you who are not familiar with the concept of "threes"— however otherwise they may be referred to (triads, triangles, threesomes, triples, etc...). These resources can be described in familiar artistic terms about the human mind thinking differently about patterns-of-three as a phenomena:

Recurring patterns-of-three in the human ear which is required for human speech, and quite possibly how we think, if we were to suggest that we might think differently if our ear had a different dominant pattern:

Patterns of three in the human ear

Let us now review a rather curious scenario of brain development involving different life forms:

A tripartite brain development in different life forms

Looking closer at Triune brain development

The next images invites the reader to consider the development of the brain (right hemisphere develops first (right hemisphere is dominant in infants) and sticks out a bit further than the left hemisphere); and the overall development of humanity in terms of migration and usage of tonal versus non-tonal languages with respect to climate changes over the history of humanity:

Telative positions of the cebral hemispheres to one another

Human brain development characterized in Human migration

Global distribution of present day tonal languages Hominid and Homo lineage examples

Additional language sources featuring tonality:

Though the title is vague, with multiple meanings, my current usage is to display my world-view perceptions involving various themes of three items. Many an artist does this already— some by intention such as those who use one or another pattern-of-three while writing a story or speech, and some by an as yet unrecognized proclivity to use patterns-of-threes in their work or hobby, whatever it may be. Musicians, Mathematicians, Architects, speech writers, Science fiction writers, Historians, Physicists, Chefs, Engine builders, Construction workers, Crafts enthusiasts, Educators, Exercise trainers, Sports strategists, Economists, Military strategists, Theologians, Medical Doctors, Artists, etc., from many different walks of life frequently use one or another pattern... though not necessarily in the mode and manner that I tend to engage in with respect to patterns-of-three.

Many, Many, Many people are oblivious to how many times in a given day they use a given pattern, three or otherwise. While I am interested in the use of "threes", someone else may consciously be on the lookout for some other pattern such as 2s (called duality, pairs, dichotomies, etc...), or 1s (such as the one-god concept), or 4s (such as the obsession in squaring the circle) or 5s, or 6s, or 7s, etc... Some prefer to look for multiple numbers such as 11, 147, 555, 888, etc., to be used as a description of a quality to be attached to a person signifying something of value, and thus provide the circumstance of a potential customer in the realms of Numerology, Astrology, or other venue of possible manipulation involving money, position, property, sex, or some other motivation that may or may not be mutually beneficial.

Yes, there are other repeating number patterns, but they do not appear as significantly as the number three in Scientific categories. A few examples should suffice for most readers:

  • 3 basic particles to atoms (Neutrons- Protons- Electrons)
  • 3rd planet: Earth
  • Triplet code in DNA/RNA
  • 3 Germ layers: Endoderm- Mesoderm- Ectoderm
  • 3 Greek problems of antiquity were a set of geometric problems whose solution was sought using only compass and straightedge:
    1. Circle squaring.
    2. Cube duplication.
    3. Angle trisection.
    4. etc...
    Date of Origination: Monday, May 12th, 2025... 6:36 AM
    Initial Posting: Monday, May 12th, 2025... 1:46 PM
    Updated Posting: Thursday, May 15th, 2025... 11:30 AM