Page I
(The Study of Threes)
http://threesology.org
Visitors as of 10/25/2022
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Please give all credits to the respective authors. I have attempted to provide links to the sites from which the information was derived, but all links may not be reliable since it's been several years since most of the information was compiled.
Let's begin this page by starting off with a short poem about Two's:
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Twos Why are lots of things in twos? Hands on clocks, and gloves and shoes, Scissor-blades, and water-taps, Collar studs, and luggage straps, Walnut shells, and pigeons? eggs, Arms and eyes and ears and legs-- Will you kindly tell me who?s So fond of making things in twos? John Drinkwater - 1882-1937 |
- Perhaps when the poem was written most clocks were being designed with only an hour and minute hand. With the advent of the second hand, we have three.
- While having a pair of gloves is customary, gloves can be fully-fingered, partially-fingered, or of the mitten type, though multiple specialized gloves are designed as well.
- As for shoes, we could mention the two tongues and our own tongue, not to mention that some people "run" at the mouth.
- While scissor-blades remain two, shaving blades have progressed from a single to a four-blade variety at this Jan. 15th 2012 writing. However, cooling fan blades remain predominantly three-bladed, lawn mower blades can have one or more, but ice skates still spout a single blade.
- Water-taps still come in the hot/cold designations although we now frequently see faucets designed with a single handle and in some stores, public restrooms have automatic dispensing water spouts.
- In terms of changing fashions, we don't see too many people wearing either collar studs or cuff links very often.
- With respect to luggage straps, most now have one or more zippers, with a few suitcases still sporting the old fold-down metal clasps.
- Walnut shells still come in two halves and most of us generally think in terms of opening a shell by divisionary terms, even if the "two" is not specific.
- At this moment, I'm not familiar with the quantity of eggs that pigeons may or may not have at any one time. It should be mentioned however, that pigeons very nearly went by way of the Dodo bird, but have made somewhat of a comeback. I can remember as a child they seemed to be everywhere.
- Most people are still born with two arms, eyes, ears and legs, though some people have attempted to carry a quantity of items suggesting three arms. Others say they have a third (mind's) eye and third (intuitive) ear. And I have had the occasion of witnessing some people using their mouth as if it were a third hand and still others using a cane as if it were a third leg.
At this date: Monday, December 14, 2015 3:41 AM, let me add that polarized molecules can provide us with left and right versions due to polarized light. This mirror-image symmetry has an additional (third) possibility with an asymmetrical center. While some might want to argue for the existence of a "dominant" propensity to put things in twos (or multiples thereof), the co-existence of a third form suggests a pattern containing both "two" and "three", as well as the "one" when thinking in terms of a single molecule. In other words, there can be no "two or three" without a "one".
With respect to the right and left symmetry caused by polarized light (light that undergoes transformation of its waves, such as by being filtered... for example, by plant material), and that in the distant past when life was being irradiated from its earliest beginnings, it has been considered that the mirror-image symmetry we see in our bodies got its cue from these early beginnings. In other words, if we were to draw a straight line from the top of our head to the bottom of our crotch, thus separating ourselves into two; one side is a mirror-like image of the other side, though in reality there are slight differences. Nonetheless, with respect to the brain and thinking, there is a primitively-occurring inclination to see reality in terms of ambivalences that one might call opposites or dichotomies. Yet, a third-order functioning appears also to be present which acts as a type of mixture or referee, though we might use the terms counselor, psychologist, diplomat, parental figure, etc... Part of this difference is seen in brain hemisphere attributes that exhibits a similarity of proportion in our heart and lung. Specifically, the attributes of the left hemisphere are particularly organized with a "three" designation, and the right side is organized with a "two" organization. With respect to a stroke occurring in either the right or left side of the brain that will affect the opposite side of the body, the lung on the right side has three lobes and the heart has a tricuspid valve. The lung on the left has two lobes and the heart has a bicuspid (or mitral) valve.... End entry inclusion for Dec. 2016.
But so much for the playful musing.
Triune Brain Structure (Paul D. Maclean: R-System [Reptilian] ~ Limbic System ~ Neocortex) is commonly divided into two hemispheres denoted simply as Left and Right. Although it is commonly believed that the R-system is the most primitive, it is not well known that the right hemisphere's development precedes the Left Hemisphere, thus making the right hemisphere next in line in terms of primivity. However, in our present day and age, in terms of brain development, the developmental sequencing (related to duration/time) are close, thereby the attributes of the right hemisphere are considered equal to and very often superior to those of the left hemisphere. Hence, some people view them as diametrically opposed opposites, while others think they mutually beneficial partners that require a balance, and still others mix and match the hemispheres to the proportions which best fit their inclinations/predispositions.
Nonetheless, a "two" division of the brain suggests a primitive perspective though it appears that the arrangement is more easily understood by most than is a triune brain structure. Yet, let me not fail to include the perspective of those attempting to engage in a "one-up-man-ship" by suggesting the Three and Two ideas fit into a single brain. Such a "One" or holistic view is commonly used by those who have difficulty with either/or both, whereby they develop their own "Three" orientation that is masquerading as a "One". And most of all of them overlook the One - Two - Three differences as a "three" not only in terms of a maturational development, but also as a 3 in 1 ration.
Let me now direct your attention towards examples of our brain's so-called two-hemispheres, noting that the sources seem to customarily dispense with a recognition of the reptilian brain.
Take a look at the following examples which concern the old view that the attributes of the Brain can be placed into a two-patterned formula that generally reflect a dichotomy of one extreme or another. With respect to each example, please give all credits to the respective authors. Links to the sites from which the following information is derived, are provided at the end of each example.
Ehrenwald (1984) has classified important differences between the hemispheres as follows:
| Left Hemisphere | Aspect | Right Hemisphere |
| Abstract, linear, analytic | Thinking | Concrete, holistic |
| Rational, logical | Cognitive style | Intuitive, artistic |
| Rich vocabulary, good grammar and syntax; pose | Language | No grammar, syntax; prosody, poor vocabulary metaphoric, verse |
| Introspection, will, initiative, sense of self, focus on trees | Executive capacity | Low sense of self, low initiative, focus on forest |
| Reading, writing, arithmetic, sensory-motor skills; inhibits psi | Specialized functions | Three I's, music, rich dream imagery, good face and gestalt recognition, open to psi |
| Sequentially ordered, measured | Time experience | "Lived" time, primitive time sense |
| Relatively poor | Spatial orientation | Superior, also for shapes, wire figures |
| Secondary process, ego functions, consciousness; superego? | Psychoanalytic aspects | Primary process, dream-work, free assoc. hallucinations? |
| Aristotle, Appollonian mode, Marx, Freud, Koestler's Commissar | Ideal prototype | Plato, Dionysian mode, Nietzsche, Jung Koestler's Yogi |
(J. E. Bogen)
| Left Hemisphere | Right Hemisphere |
| Intellect | Intuition |
| Convergent | Divergent |
| Digital | Analogic |
| Secondary | Primary |
| Abstract | Concrete |
| Directed | Free |
| Propositional | Imaginative |
| Analytic | Relational |
| Lineal | Non-lineal |
| Rational | Intuitive |
| Sequential | Multiple |
| Analytic | Holistic |
| Objective | Subjective |
| Successive | Simultaneous |
(I Ching)
| Yin | Yang |
|---|---|
| Feminine | Masculine |
| Negative | Positive |
| Moon | Sun |
| Darkness | Light |
| Yielding | Aggressive |
| Left side | Right side |
| Warm | Cold |
| Autumn | Spring |
| Winter | Summer |
| Unconscious | Conscious |
| Right brain | Left brain |
| Emotion | Reason |
| L-mode | R-mode |
| L-mode is the "right-handed," left-hemisphere mode. The L is foursquare, upright, sensible, direct, true, hard-edged, unfanciful, forceful. | R-mode is the "left-handed," "right-hemisphere mode. The R is curvy, flexible, more playful in its unexpected twists and turns, more complex, diagonal, fanciful. |
| Left Brain | Right Brain |
|---|---|
| step-by-step reasoning | Mystical |
| Logical | Musical |
| Mathematical | "Creative" |
| Speaking | Visual-pictorial |
| Dominates right brain | Submissive to the left brain |
| Pattern user | Pattern seeker |
| Left | Right |
| Parsing Successive or Sequential Logical Expression Focal Perception (naming objects) Analytical Sense of Time Aggressive Discrete Representation Literal Linguistic/Symbolic Intellectual Verbal Intelligence Abstract Reasoning Quantifiable Knowledge Mathematical Calculation |
Holistic Simultaneous Gestalt Expression Orientational Awareness Synthetic Present Centeredness Passive Diffuse Representation Metaphoric Visio-Spatial (Configurational) Sensuous Performance Intelligence Concrete Perceptual Insight Existential or Experiential Knowledge Apprehension and Transformation of Patterns and Relations (Visual Thinking) |
Gestalt Thinking: Learning to see and record the world in terms of wholes, whose properties are so unified that they cannot be derived from their parts. Gesture drawing exercises attempt to record the gestalt without the analytical details.
Analytical (Visual) Thinking: The mental act of separating a visual whole into its elemental parts so that one or more of them can be studied in depth. In visual analytical thinking, mental skill must be expressed in an observable activity that communicates clearly the degree of learning; verbalization about the nature of the learning must never replace appropriate visual expression.
Related Concepts:
Observation: The act of seeing, noticing and recording. In artistic terms, seeing implies that the individual takes full responsibility for the visual information that the eyes take in and the brain processes. If focused and critical attention is not paid to the information presented to the eyes and then recorded, however quickly and sketchy, observation becomes a fleeing mental activity which cannot serve as the basis for sound, extended visual thinking.
ETC: An acronym is created by Robert Mckin to describe the "feedback loop" necessary for graphic development of visual ideas. The letters stand for the three phases in the creative thinking cycle:
Expression, Testing, and Cycling ...back to expression.
Metaphoric thinking is a substitutional mental process in which implicit comparisons are made between qualities of objects which are usually considered in separate classifications. By poetically sensing and analogically developing the hidden connections between these normally separated qualities, the student is able to synthesize new mental constructs as forms that may be called creative. With the great over emphasis in education on making clear, linear, and literal connections, the synthesis of new evocative forms is an important productive thinking skill for all students who hope to do more than memorize information.
Related Concepts:
Quickness: The ability to grasp the essence of a configuration, whether in the imagination or exterior environment, with a quick thumbnail sketch.
Thumbnail Sketches: Small, quickly drawn configuration studies done more for the study of a visual thought than as a finished work of art.
Scaffold Thinking: A scaffold, in building construction terms, is a raised framework that can support the many things needed for the job. A visual scaffold is the structural basis of an artistic configuration (the main structural lines and forces) upon which any number of elements and details can be supported to accomplish the job of visual communication (an artwork's underlying composition or visual structure). "Grasping the Glimpse" of a gestalt and not concentrating on the many pieces of visual identifying information is the use of scaffold thinking in artistic thought.
Visual Thinking Definition:
Visual thinking refers to a group of generative skills that, when practiced with rigorous discipline, results in the production of novel and original graphic ideas. By seeking to discover visual forms that fit his/her underlying human experience, the student of visual thinking comes to know the world. This practice of thinking with images alone is stressed in NAB in order to balance the over-emphasis on verbal reasoning in other areas of education. Visual thinking is high order critical thinking conducted by imaginistic means alone. (Visual Thinking is that which relates to the arrangement and manipulation of configurational elements.)
The following generalizations form a dichotomy and when that dichotomy is applied recursively these generals get 'mixed' and a hierarchy of distinctions emerge, in fact the 'discreteness' seems to develop into a continuum based on 'interdigitations' of the basic discrete elements. Note that the left thread serves as an interpreter, it deals with expression, assertion of 'truths' regardless of their reality (and so a link to delusion). The left thread favors precision, an emphasis on the 'one', and in doing so as quickly as it can so it can mis-interpret with a degree of justification, with rationalizations, that the delusion can be maintained for some time. The following list is some of the characteristic biases identified and are reflective of this asymmetry. The distinctions of 'thread' are used to emphasize the weaving nature within these distinctions in that they apply at all scales from hemispheres to lobes within hemispheres to neural nets within lobes to the neuron itself. All characteristics are based on comparisons of one side to the other:
| Left Thread | Right Thread |
| Particular | General |
| Local | Non-Local |
| Objects | Relationships |
| The ONE | The MANY |
| Precise (quantitative precision) | Approximate (qualitative precision) |
| What (Who, Which) | Where (How, When) |
| Tonic | Harmonic |
| Internal Linkage (within) | External Linkage (Between) |
| Syntax/Semantics | Semantics/Precepts |
| Single Context | Multi Context |
| Exaggerate, Distort | AS-IS |
| Known | Unknown |
| Ordered | Disordered |
| Non-Change | Change |
| Ordinality | Cardinality |
| What IS | What IS NOT |
| delusion | illusion |
| repression | suppression |
| What WAS | What COULD HAVE BEEN |
| What WILL BE | What COULD BE |
| +1/-1 | zero/infinity |
| Text | Context |
| Foreground | Background |
| Quantitative | Qualitative |
| Expression | Behind Expression |
| Self | Others |
| The Dot | The Field |
| Particle Interpretations | Wave Interpretations |
| Metonymy (part-for-whole) | Metaphor (whole-for-whole) |
| What!? No "part-for-part" designation?... H.O.B. | |
| Axon-like (pulse, FM = SEQUENCE, Ordinality) | Dendrite-like (wave amplitude, AM = SIZE, Cardinality) |
| neuron | synaptic 'soup'*** |
| dopamine biased (internal linkage emphasis, internal integrity) | serotonin biased (external linkage emphasis, social integrity) |
| psychosis, schizophrenia | neurosis, depression |
| identify | Pre-identify |
| blend, bound (feeling terms for whole, parts) | bond, bind (feeling terms for statics, dynamics) |
| Vectoring | Way pointing |
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Note: If we can assume that the reference to a synaptic 'soup' in the above list has some similarity to the process of a "primordial soup" that is thought to have occurred billions of years ago in the development of biological life as we presently know it, this may suggest that early life/geophysical/universe processes were more in line with what we would term a right-hemisphere orientation, but are becoming more left hemisphere oriented as we "progress." Instead of natural processes developing conditions which promote and insure an ever larger diversity of life forms, extinctions are part of a larger overall cosmological process directed towards a sort of left hemisphere type of singularity and not a right hemisphere form of multiplicity. Hence, while humanity associates some sentimental and political policy value to words and actions revolving around ideas related to diversity, plurality, multiplicity, etc., in actual reality, the Universe is moving towards a type of specificity that the word "singularity" is but a present day human defined metaphor of explanation. We find this specificity being expressed by many mystics, gurus, metaphysicists, theologians, new age philosophies, etc., in their concepts of:
All such labels refer to a specificity of singular activity and not a generality implying diversity. Such notions of "oneness" are clearly references to the left hemisphere even though the contemporary notion is that mystics (etc.,) are those who have learned to become more in touch with the gestalt attributes of the right hemisphere as opposed to the "Uni" (one)-directed attributes of the left hemisphere. Clearly one could argue that most interpretations related to which hemisphere is actually central to the foundation of mystical thought, is left hemisphere directed. Such a reversal of interpretation is much in the manner of Copernicus and Galileo saying to established authoritative views that the (left hemisphere) Sun is the center of the Universe and not the (right hemisphere) Earth. Such a distinction implies that present authority figures in psychology, theology, metaphysics, etc., have been extolling their own form of self-righteous self-centeredness because the right hemisphere represents a link with a traditional form of human speciality, just as the view of the Earth being the center of the Universe, or man being the center of God's attention, were traditional views that were once vigorously guarded by ancient authority figures. Thus, in applying such a view to a contemporary human activity, one could consider that inter-racial dating/mating is not a unity related to a paradigm of the Universe, but is an impulsively derived emotional perpetuation of a diversity that goes against the grain of nature and the larger overall focus of the cosmos. In other words, they are permitting themselves to be directed by the nature of social circumstances that provide for an "accommodation" to express hormonal impulses (through intimidation, manipulation, coercion, sympathy for those who portray themselves as victims, underdogs, etc.), and yet are out of sync with the nature of the cosmos. ...H.O.B |
Asymmetry suggests specialization and complementarity:
Left Brain
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The left hemisphere generally handles symbolic activities like language and logic. In music listening, we use strategies of the left brain when we:
A person following the harmonic progressions of a composition might be using the strategies of the left hemisphere. |
The right hemisphere perceives directly, handling spatial tasks, abstractions, and intuitive leaps. In music listening, we use strategies of the right brain when we:
A person listening to the overall effect of the music might be using the strategies of the right hemisphere. |
--- Right Brain ---
--- Music and the Brain ---
For another reference to the brain and music:
--- Chapter Three: Right Brain/Left Brain ---
(The link to the above chart is provided under the section "Conclusions about hemispheric specialization." I took some liberty in coloring the figures.)
Here's another view that is similar to the above chart:
However, when we look at the assigned culturally recognized attributes of the brain, we can see a distinct (over-lapping) 1-patterned, or 2-patterned, or 3-patterned arrangement that is not being taught in psychology classes, because the distinction has not been recognized:
| Left Hemisphere | Right Hemisphere |
|
(Predominantly
3-patterned) 3-part Math: Associative Commutative Distributive 3-part Logic: Major Premise Minor Premise Conclusion 3-part Time Sequencing: Seconds~ Minutes~ Hours Past~ Present~ Future Day~ Week~ Month 3-part Language: Subject Object Verb 3-part Right Body Side: Tri-cuspid heart valve Three-lobed lung |
(Predominantly
2-patterned) 2-part Holistic: Macro versus Micro Whole versus Part Inner versus Outer 2-part Music: Major Scale vs Minor Scale Loud versus Soft (Quiet) Consonance vs Dissonance 2-part Visuospatial: (Art) Background vs Foreground Light vs Dark (Contrasts) 1 Dimension vs 2 Dimensions 2-part Emotions: Pain versus Pleasure Positive vs Negative Love versus Hate 2-part Left Body Side: Bi-cuspid heart valve Two-lobed lung |
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In ancient times, it was once thought that a male child was generated from the right testicle and a female child from the left testicle. In keeping with the cross-referencing pattern related to brain hemisphere functioning controlling the opposite side of the body, as seen when a person has a stroke; the male comes from the "left brain" and the female comes from the "right brain." Hence, the male comes from left hemisphere brain functioning and the female from right hemisphere brain functioning. |
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ROOT
SYSTEM (Reptilian) (Predominantly 1-Patterned) (Self)-Preservation~ (Self)-Procreation~ (Self)-Preeminence |
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Some additional two-patterned references found in music:
- Tension and Release
- Staccato and Legato
- Slow and Fast
- Ascending and Descending
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It can clearly be seen that the (Reptilian) brain is focused on singularity (one- in terms of a "self" centeredness), the right hemisphere is focused on duality (two), and the left hemisphere is focused on patterns-of-three. However, I do not wish to imply that it is always a conscious focus. It is of interest to note that when we use the left hemisphere attribute "analysis" to define qualities of the right hemisphere, we often-times assign an additional third criteria in one form or another to the two-patterned references. When we use the right hemisphere attribute "viewing" (recognizing) to define qualities of the left hemisphere, we often-times alter the 3-part descriptions into 2-part "portraits." For example, and generally speaking: Left Hemisphere
"analyzing" Right
Hemisphere: Right Hemisphere
"viewing" Left
Hemisphere: Left Hemisphere
"analyzing" Reptilian
characteristics: Right Hemisphere
"viewing" Reptilian
characteristics: It is not yet certain to what extent (if any) a reptilian brain is aware of those (left/right) brain attributes which exceed its own capacities. In other words, how much of an advanced brain can a primitive brain know? To use a simple analogy, how much can the brain of a human know the brain of a god? In the present instance, the development of the right and left hemisphere characteristics far exceed those of the reptilian, even though some would argue that any degree of overlapping nullifies the usage of an analogy that suggests one is god-like and the other is extremely primitive. Note: In the many philosophical inquiries into discerning why the right and left sides of the body appear to reflect a "mirror image" symmetry, we should consider the genetic basis for this as being the result of an early environmental influence during life's pristine genesis. It is rather easy to consider this possibility when we can find a mirror image form of symmetry in geologic formations such as that with the Juan de Fuca Ridge off the coast of Vancouver. This formation of alternating "stripes" of molten rock crust is said to be due to geomagnetic reversals. If we can find such an alternating pattern of geomagnetic reversals in geologic formations, it is not too difficult to consider that the sensitive, impressionable, "highly suggestible" building blocks of life over billions of years may also have adapted to this environmental influence in some measure. We must consider the possibility that the geomagnetic reversals occurred at a (accelerated?) rate sufficiently "tuned" to the "frequency" necessary for affecting biological-specific formations. In stating such, the connection between magnetic and electrical forces could be understood as degrees of symmetry necessary for our understanding the relationship between electro-magnetism and gravity, for which many physicists have sought a mathematical formula to explain such a relationship. Additionally, we find (impulsively) rendered attempts to define the "whole" (as yet only) human brain as an inherently polarized structure by those "portraying" various 2-part (opposite) descriptions. {Recall "whole" & "impulsive" are attributes of the Right Hemisphere.} The following sample list is a 2-patterned holistic [gestalt] appraisal of the human brain which actually proceeds along a 1- 2- 3 maturational sequence, but this is not to imply that the entire sequence is always achieved. Not all individuals reach each successive stage at the same time, in the same manner, or completely. |
For links to various brain-related websites:
http://www.thinkblade.com/memletics/9/brain-dominant-right.html
Note: In August of 2008 I had to replace and clean the spider fuel injection system on a 1994 Chevrolet Blazer with a 4.3 (Vortec) engine. I removed the intake manifold as part of a general cleaning procedure and realized, when replacing it with new gaskets [with some difficulty,] that the inside left (driver's side) portion of the manifold required three bolts and that the inside right (passenger's side) portion of the manifold required two bolts to secure it to the cylinder head. Externally, the outside of the left side took two bolts and the right side took three. One must wonder how frequent such a three -versus- two arrangement occurs in various other applications and whether such a set-up is due to a cultural influence or some basic physiological/psychological impression being expressed in this symbolic form of representation.
Most Recent Update: Monday, December 14, 2015
Updated Posting: Tuesday, October 25th,. 10:51 AM... 2022
Herb O. Buckland
herbobuckland@hotmail.com