Happy New Year

So, been a while since i posted anything on here. Not a lot going on except Holidays and work and recovering from them! LOL. 

Given that the New Year starting tomorrow is 2011 (Thank you for reminding of this, Uncle E.) it seems like a perfect Factor of 3 moment since 2010 (2+1=3) is ending. I didn't get all main the numbers done, like i had wished to do. However, i hope to have more time to do this in the coming year. 

I do have a new idea for what i want to blog about in my posts for the next year, though. I would like to post 10 words every day from the Webster's New World Dictionary. However, i am not going to go merely in alphabetical order. I am going to start with 2/3-letter words first, then move up to 4-letter words, and so on. The hope is to make sure that D. has a list that he can refer to as soon as he starts reading, which he can use to expand his spelling/grammar/linguistic abilities. A major bonus would be if he starts playing Scrabble with me ASAP!! But he is only 2.5 years old...so i guess it will take a while!!

Therefore, I hope to write more often this year!! Have a great New Year!

8 is just infinity...

I have been thinking about writing this blog since my brother's 30th birthday, which was on October 30th! Eventhough the date this year 10/30/2010 adds up to 7, his name starts with "H" - the 8th letter of the alphabet. So here are some interesting facts about 8 that i know of. I am sure that googling "the number 8" will result in more interesting information for those of you that want to pursue it.

In my view, the number 8 is a feminine number. It represents fullness and ever since i have seen the "goddess of fertility" statues found from ancient civilizations, my association of 8 with fertility has increased all the more. It is interesting to note that the total number of weeks of pregnancy (typically, 40 weeks) is cut down to waiting time of about 8 months from the time a lady realizes that she is expecting. In the spirit of fun and the upcoming winter though, i am representing a snowman using the 8 as shown below.

If you remember from a previous blog entry, i associate the number 8 with the color Orange. Orange as a color represents courage and bravery in the Indian culture. At what point does 8 come to represent bravery therefore, is indeed an interesting question - one that i am still contemplating. I believe that it takes a special type of bravery in being the "hand that rocks the cradle..." (HUGE shout out to all my female friends out there, whether you are mothers or not!). Recently a friend commented on his Facebook status - "why are decaf coffee containers always Orange?" - a fact that i had not really noticed until i read his post. I really wanted to write "because it takes much courage to drink just that!!"

Now to move on to the characteristics of 8. It is the first cube occurring in the number series (other than the obvious 1) since 2 to the power three results in 8. It is also a number that if you lay on its side, becomes infinity! The factors of 8 are 1, 2, 4, and 8. But the interesting journey of 8 begins with recognizing whether a number is divisible by 8 or not. If you remember, if the last two digits of a number are divisible by 4, the whole number is divisible by 4. In the case of 8 it is a little more complicated because one has to check the last three digits of the number. If the last three digits of a number are divisible by 8, then the entire number is divisible by 8. I guess the lesson to be learned here is that there is no real shortcut method to check for divisibility by 8 except to divide a number by 2 three consecutive times. 

After the Octomom event last year and "Jon & Kate plus 8" debacle, i believe that people are more familiar with the fact that "Octa" represents 8. An interesting fact on the word "october" - prior to the rearrangement of the year done by Augustus Caesar (note that he denoted his birth month as the 8th month), October was the 8th month in the Roman calendar. The astrological star sign of Scorpio is still the 8th sign in the Zodiac. According to the new planetary rules, the total number of planets around the Sun is also 8 (sob! sob! Poor Pluto) which is ironical since Pluto is considered to be the ruling planet for Scorpios!! 

While most of us are very comfortable with drawing hexagons, octagons are actually more symmetrical and we are more used to seeing them than we realize...think of STOP signs!

Anyways, the child unit is calling out for attention so I need to get going...but here is a thought i would like to leave you with - numerological analysis has demonstrated that people are born on the dates adding up 4 or 8  (4, 8, 13, 17, 22, 26) tend to have major life events occur on those dates or at those ages (and ages that add up to a 4 or 8)... If you are one of these people, please let me know if this holds true for you...

Until tomorrow or later...ADIOS!

Hexa anyone?

Hi,
Sorry that other concerns and considerations have kept me from writing more frequently than I intended. Anyways, today's post is about the number 6. The most obvious reason why I like the number 6 is that it is a multiple of 1, 2, & 3; and interestingly, it is also the sum of 1, 2, & 3!! I relate number six to indigo or dark blue but i also relate it to a backwards facing stork as shown here!

Typically, we are used to seeing 6 in many more ways than we can identify off the top of our heads! A hexagon is a polygon with six sides (Click here to see a hexagon). We see hexagons in many places around our house and life - think bolts & nuts, beehive structures (so we see these on honey bottles), soccer balls (usually have a combination of hexagons and pentagons), and basic structure of carbon (we don't see this, but Carbon is one of the basic elements we are all made of). We also see 6 in every cubic or cuboid object we see/use. Every cube/cuboid has six sides. A dice consists of 6 sides, for example. Another interesting and probably less known fact about 6 is that in calculator digits, 6 is written using exactly 6 lines! This only holds true for 4, 5, and 6!!

Another interesting aspect of 6 is that we use it every second of the day, literally... Our clocks are set up in increments of 60 --> 60 seconds to a minute, 60 minutes to an hour; 6 hours are 1/4th of the day, 6 are the days of work in most parts of the world and constitute almost 1/5th of a month, and last but not the least, 6 months constitute half a year! While 6 is (obviously) not a prime number itself, like i mentioned earlier, it is the sum and the product of the first three natural primes (1, 2, 3). Since 9 is also the inverted version of 6, a quick note here about 6 and 9 is in order - in our passion for 3s, 6 and 9 are the first two whole number multiples of 3!!

To check for divisibility by 6, all we need to do is check for divisibility by 2 and 3. I will cover divisibility by 2 when i write up the entry for the number 2 and have covered divisibility by 3 in the post about 3! 

6 also implies  half a foot - in fact if we look back at the non-metric systems around the world, we find that 4 and 6 show up prominently and not 10. Another aspect of 6 that is important is it's square - 36. As I discovered recently on my trip to the State Fair, 36 inches is the minimum height the park people allow for most rides! On further investigation about that I found that this is due to the fact that 36" is the average height of a 3-year old (gotta love the 3s!!), and the physical stability required to sit through and enjoy most rides (taking into account the femur length, etc. which allows for comfortable and safe seating). Another cool thing about 36 is that it is also the product of two squares - 4 & 9!!


Anyways, that's all i have to say about 6 for now... if i think of anything else, i will make another post for it at some point in the future. If you have anything to add, PLEASE send me/post your comments...

Until tomorrow or later... ADIOS!!!

The number 7...

I picked number 7 today for many reasons. The obvious one is that this is my 8th post and thus I have completed 7 posts till date! This is more than the total number of journal entries I have written in my entire life. I now realize my mistake. I tried to make the journal entries about me rather than about things that interest me...no wonder i never crossed 7!! One little known reason is that i associate 7 very emotionally with my son. I found out that i was expecting him on 10/06/2007 at 6:10 AM. If you sum up all the numbers from that date, you will get 7 and same thing for the time at which i learned about his existence!! This is probably a little sappy, but one of the very few things I am sappy about, indeed!! If you are anything like me and live your life by measuring numbers consciously or sub-consciously, you will realize that the fact that i remember the date and the time has less to do with the emotional importance of that moment and more to do with placing that information in a neat little packet in my brain's memory!!

The number 7 in my spectrum is represented by a "clear" color or "no color". I have had a few friends ask me how a "clear" band would work, and why. While I have found it difficult to explain, perhaps this figure representing 7 as a part of a flower vase will indicate why I always associate 7 with clear or negative space:

The Number 7 in a Flower Vase

As you can see in this figure, the black lines represent a 7!! The number 7 is many things...it is a prime number and if you google "the number 7" you will find out how many different mathematical functions involve 7 as a key number in their sequences! But let's just explore things that we use/hear/know on a regular basis:

1. 7 is the total of the two opposite sides of a regular dice! (1 and 6; 2 and 5; 3 and 4)

2. 7 is also the most probable sum if two dice are thrown together (6 out of 36 = 1/6) - so i guess you know what to bet on now when you are playing with two dice!! LOL

3. 7 is the number of deadly sins as described in some major monotheistic formalized religions - Pride, Envy, Gluttony, Lust, Anger, Greed, Sloth. Majority of the world religions have an unusually high occurrence of 7 in the theological books. I believe 7 is considered a magical number by many cultures and religions, but that is beyond my interest at this time!

4. 7 days of the week named after the 7 earliest acknowledged extra-terrestrial bodies - Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn! 7 months in the year have 31 days and the rest have either 30 or 28(29 in leap year) - January, March, May, July, August, October, December. 

5. A rainbow has 7 colors - VIBGYOR (violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange, red); Music has 7 major notes - Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti (Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha, Ni - in Indian classical)

6. The Big Dipper, also known as Saptarshi, is an easy to recognize stellar constellation that is formed out of 7 stars! Another major 7-star constellation is Orion.

7. We all are very familiar with 7 basic terms used to give directions - left, right, up, down, behind, front, beside! I am deliberately NOT focusing on the "Seven Wonders of the World" because I believe that 7 is too small a number to try to express the wonders in the world!!

Mathematically, 7 is interesting. The rule for identifying divisibility by 7 is almost more complex than actually manually doing the division. But i will attempt to explain, nonetheless. It is a three step  (O how i love thee, number 3!!) procedure:

1) Take the last digit of the number and double it

2) Subtract this doubled value from the rest of the digits

3) If the result is two digits, check if the two digit number is divisible by 7, otherwise repeat procedure.

e.g. Let's consider a number 595. Last digit is '5' so doubling it gives us '10'. Subtract 10 from '59' which gives us '49'. '49' is the square of 7 and therefore perfectly divisible by 7. This implies that '595' should be perfectly divisible by 7 (no fractional/decimal solutions!!). Testing --> 595/7 = 85!!

Well, my students are almost done with their midterm so i will get going...

Till tomorrow, or later...ADIOS!!

On Gandhi...

German author Herman Hesse, in his 1922 book "Siddhartha" includes a discussion that Siddhartha has with a trader regarding what his strengths are!  The trader asks Siddhartha (an ascetic who wants to work for the trader), "what are your strengths?" and the reply given by Siddhartha holds, in my opinion, the truth about India and Indians as observed by Hesse in 1910.

Siddhartha replied after a little bit of thought, "I can think. I can wait. And I can fast. These are my three strengths."  (Factor of 3 anyone???)


In a recent conversation with my father, he associated the lines from Herman Hesse's "Siddhartha" to Gandhi and it was as if a new world of thought opened up for me! How true it is that one of the most influential leaders of the 20th century survived on three major strengths and with three major principles. Gandhi's fundamental principles were truth, non-violence, and equality.

Here is a brief window to Gandhi - most of us know most of the logistical history of Gandhi, either because we grew up in India (a country that claims to function on Gandhian principles) or have watched Richard Attenborough's Gandhi. In either case, while this historical figure is impressive and attention-worthy, what is often overlooked is the sheer strength of character and commitment to truth that are demonstrated by the man!

Some day, when i have more time on hand, i will definitely devote a brief economic exploration into the ideas of Gandhi and how he, in terms of pure economic ideology, firmly establishes himself as a capitalist. In the mean time, I thought it was important to identify that along with his THREE principles, his THREE strengths were important to recognize.

1. I can think - Gandhi was an intelligent lawyer who was able to observe the conditions of Indians in a Colonial India when he returned from South Africa in 1915. He realized that the economic exploitation of local farmers and workers in India had resulted in a weak economic system that could not sustain itself even if the British left India immediately. He recognized that the root of the problem of colonization lay with economic interests and the only way to resolve the need for independence peacefully was to remove the economic incentive of the British in India. He quite literally thought things through to a point where removing economic incentives one after another led the British to finally, merely WALK out of India without further conflict.

2. I can wait - This is demonstrated by the fact that Gandhi spent 20 years in South Africa in order to get equal rights for Indians; and almost 30 years in getting the British to leave India. This demonstrates a strength of character - and a belief in truth. Having been influenced heavily by various religious texts, Gandhi realized that planning requires adequate amounts of time allocated for achieving success at any plan. The patience that is considered to be such a characteristic of the Gandhian philosophy comes out of the understanding that, in economic terms, at least - LONG TERM stability matters!!

3. I can fast - This is perhaps the most important learning from the Gandhian lifestyle. It is one of the easiest strengths to misunderstand, and one of the most difficult ones to follow. Fasting in this case does not necessarily refer to multiple fasts Gandhi undertook in order to establish peace and stability between groups of people. Fasting refers to the function of "doing without." I have found that fasting is a fairly foreign concept in the Western culture as a whole. Sacrificing personal convenience of any sort is almost looked down upon on the one hand or idealized on the other, without realizing the attainability of this goal and the value it has to survival. Don't get me wrong here, sacrificing personal convenience (also known as 'fasting") is NOT the same as "sacrificing" - a concept that abounds in the Western philosophy. The ability to do without is dwindling rapidly with each generation also. In a world of immediate gratification, i think it would serve us well to recognize the importance of surviving 'without.'

Once again, Gandhi does embody this very well. As a kid, i often made fun of the fact that Gandhi practically wore only a loincloth - i thought it was snobbish of him to be so "simple." To me, if a person's simplicity is encroaching on practicality,  it is basically a snobbery (a i-am-better-than-you approach). But, after a simple experiment carried out recently, i realized that something very powerful and goal-oriented is required within oneself to make a commitment of this nature. I had experimented with only wearing one pair of jeans and a couple of shirts throughout the semester (a couple semesters ago). I have seen my grandparents and my father live a very simple lifestyle by choice and was always thinking of the "snob" effect as i mentioned above. Once i started following the rules of limitation and simplicity, I have to honestly and embarrassingly admit, that i did not last for more than a week or two. The simplicity was not easy to stick with...it was boring, and yes, i did feel deprived to some extent. That was when i realized what a significant commitment Gandhi made to his cause of making the average Indian feel that he was understood!

Anyways, i am going to go start getting dressed for the State Fair of Texas!! Till tomorrow, or later...ADIOS!

The number 5

Howdy y'all! I  know i have been a little slow in posting this note but i just haven't found the time to sit down and write! Today's short note is on the number 5. It is a number that looks like a half fruit!

5 is the fourth prime number and plays quite an important role in our lives. We have 5 fingers on each hand, and 5 toes on each foot. Turns out that the addition of the 5th finger (thumb) and big toe makes humans different from other mammals! The opposable thumb is responsible for the variety of tasks humans can do that monkeys can't!

I also like the number 5 because all numbers ending in 5 and 0 are perfectly divisible by 5. I remember as a kid that after learning the times tables for 1 and 2, the times tables for 5 were the easiest! Actually, i believe that once children "get" the times table for 5, it is easier to learn the others.
Before I end, just wanted to note that the one number total for today's date 09/30/2010 is 6! A quick check --> 9+3+0+2+0+1+0 =  15 --> 1+5 = 6!
15 is divisible by 5 and 3, hence i chose 5 for today!!
On a personal note, i just added three classes to my semester which is going to make it a little difficult to update as often as i would like. But keep checking!

Just happy...

Yesterday, I sat down and sketched out the visuals for each single digit number that I use when remembering each number. All will be revealed in time. But for now, i simply changed the blog picture to reflect a green heart lying sideways to demonstrate 3.

Since it is the weekend, i figured that i am not going to write any new details about specific numbers. Thus, the question arises...what do i write about? Well, i decided to write about today's date! It is 25th of September, 2010. In letters only it can be written as 09252010 (U.S. style) and 25092010 (other styles). As you can note, there is a big difference between the two numbers if you consider them simply numbers rather than dates:

9,252,010

2,50,92,010

1st version: 9,252,010 translates to violet-lt. blue-black-lt. blue-white-red-white.
If you notice, i have written the number in the version that is most common in United States - commas before every 3 numbers (am I the only one who sees the craziness of three all around me??). Thus, we read the number as Nine million, Two hundred, Fifty-Two thousand, Ten.


2nd version: 2,50,92,010 translates to lt.blue-black-white-violet-lt.blue-white-red-white. This is a longer number and i have written it out in the style of writing numbers that i learned growing up...a comma before the last three numbers and consecutive commas before 2 digits thereafter. This number would be read as Two crores, Fifty lakhs, Ninety-Two thousand, Ten.

The bands i have shown above are the kind of bands that will help visual learners memorize numbers better. So let us try to find out what is unique (mathematically) about today's numbers - i am going to use the 1st version to begin with. The number is obviously an even number, and is divisible by 1, 2, 5, 10. After dividing by 10, it is easy to see that the result 925201 is an extremely odd number to play with. A website helped me find the other positive factors - 1, 2, 5, 10, 71, 83, 142, 157, 166, 314, 355, 415, 710, 785, 830, 1570, 5893, 11147, 11786, 13031, 22294, 26062, 29465, 55735, 58930, 65155, 111470, 130310, 925201, 1850402, 4626005, 9252010. Remember that the negative versions of all these numbers are also factors! Interestingly, the basic (upto three digits) prime factors of 9252010 are 1, 2, 5, 71, 83, 157. The spacing between 5 and 71 is big!! I guess what i am trying to accomplish here is to demonstrate how every number is special and unique, no matter how large it is!

For the 2nd version; 25092010 - again, even number divisible obviously by 1,2,5,10.  But beyond that, the number becomes more interesting than the first version of today's date. Upon finding factors (thank God for wonderful computing applications, it is easy to do!) we obtain 1, 2, 5, 10, 1013, 2026, 2477, 4954, 5065, 10130, 12385, 24770, 2509201, 5018402, 12546005, 25092010. Considering the prime factors in this case, we get a distance of 1008 between 5 and 1013 and the next prime number 2477 is 1464 spaces away from 1013!! Talk about large numbers, eh?

Anyways, my 3rd factor is about to wake up...so i will stop my number-mania for today...

Till tomorrow, or later...ADIOS!!

On square structures...

I am amazed at how many friends/family members are coming through on their interests in numbers, and favorite numbers. That makes me happy!! Thank you all and keep sending in those quirks...when i blog about a relevant number or topic, i will surely give you a shout out - discreetly of course! How many of you were able to work the color system into the numbers...did it help? Keep me posted. You can email me/call me or just post a comment - I love getting feedback. I have some other tricks and tips up my sleeve, but writing them out and thinking them through will depend upon the level of interest i find.

My initial thought today was to write about how the color-number theory works for basic mathematical functions - addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. However, i decided that i am going to wait a few days before writing about them so that you have some time to get familiar with the color spectrum.

Today I want to explore the number 4 - why four you ask? Well, it comes right after 3 and is the first non-prime number in the series of natural numbers. It is also the first square (other than 1 of course), and it plays an important role in many aspects of our life, just like all other numbers. As a kid, I was very fond of the number 4 (you will find soon enough that at different times in my life, different numbers take the place of "second favorite number"). For a long time, i was obsessed with the number 4. Think of 4 as an exotic butterfly that is about to perch on a flower!  By the way, during the discussion of each number i will give some visual images to connect to the number. This is another good method of remembering number sequences.

If you see carefully, the butterfly pictured here starts with the base of number 4. I also would like to point out that for a standard keyboard, 4 key corresponds to $!! Anyways, back to the characteristics of number 4. In order to test divisibility by the number 4, one only needs to consider the last 2 digits any number. If the last 2 digits are divisible by 4, the entire number is divisible by 4. Check it out - let's assume a large number 265418. Here, as we can see 18 are the last two digits and 18 is NOT divisible by 4. Thus, 265418 is not divisible by 4. If you want, type it into your  calculator and you will find that 265418/4 = 66354.5. On the other hand 265416/4 = 66354 because 16 is perfectly divisible by 4.

A legitimate question here would be why is this the case. I will attempt to explain - any even number is divisible by 2, correct? Now, every alternate even number is divisible by 4 (check out numbers such as 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, etc.) because 4 is 2 multiplied by 2. Just like the "evenness" of a number implies that 2 is a factor, the divisibility of the last two digits by 4 implies that the number has to be divisible by 4. Another quick note to make here is that if you are trying to divide an even number by 4, it will either result in a whole number or a number ending with 0.5. (See above example for illustration).

A unique feature of the number four is that it is a square of and the sum of the same numbers. There are no other real whole numbers that fulfill this criterion. That is to say that X + X = X^2 is true only of 4 (among the population of real whole numbers).

A quick look at literature in English, or other regional languages will indicate that not much special attention is given to the number 4. While 3 is sacrosanct and a staple in many children's books, historical and religious references, 4 often gets sidelined. This is partially due to the fact that 2 is a MAJOR factor of 4, and therefore carries its properties over to 4. Moreover, other than four-leaf clovers, which are considered to be special and lucky even, one does not often find 4 occurring in most natural events or creations.

However, mathematically 4 is quite powerful. Guess how many sides to a square or rectangle? That's right - 4!! It is important to note though, that in cases like this having the measures of the length and breadth (just 2 numbers) will usually suffice for all calculative purposes. A cool feature of 4 sided shapes (quadrilaterals) is that the sum of all the angles within the shape is always 360 degrees. Why the number 360 is awesome, will be dealt with in another blog some day... but for now, note that 360 degrees in a circle always implies a complete circle such that the beginning point and the ending point are the same. While this might have significant philosophical implications for those who are leaning towards the philosophy of 360 degrees... it is significant in trigonometry and calculus for a variety of reasons.

So what are the major four-sided shapes aka quadrilaterals? Square, rectangle, rhombus, parallelogram, trapezoid, and kite. While exploring the internet i found this Website that shows what each of these shapes looks like. If you look closely, you will find many many examples around your own room/residence that resonate the principles of four!! I think the Egyptians had it right when they placed a quadrilateral (perfect square) at the bottom of their pyramids!! More on that someday, i promise...

Till tomorrow, or later...ADIOS!!

Of colors and numbers...

I have been thinking for a while, why some people are better with numbers than others. I saw a show on The Science Channel sometime back which stated that some people associate numbers with a variety of visual objects. The condition is called Synesthesia. Once i heard that, it all made sense to me. I have ALWAYS associated numbers with colors. However, unlike people with synesthesia, I do not have any other signs. If I look back on my childhood, I must have heard or seen someone associate colors with numbers and picked it up as a conscious habit. In fact, i remember thinking around the age of 6 or so that if there are 7 colors in the rainbow, and only 10 single digits in the world (0-9), how come we don't associate colors with numbers?

Another commonly used associative behavior is that of numbers and music notes (think "Close Encounters of the Third Kind"). But my music abilities are best left unexplored! LOL.

I cannot predict or confirm if it always works. However, i have found that associating numbers with colors makes it easier to perform mathematical functions and memorize sequences. This all aids only short-term memory for me, but studies show that in many cases, even long term memory is affected.

Let me try to give you an insight into how this works. And perhaps remembering phone numbers or order tracking numbers or confirmation numbers when you don't have a pen handy might become just a teeny bit easier.

First and foremost, let me give you my color spectrum:
0 = White
1 = Red
2 = Light Blue
3 = Green
4 = Yellow
5 = Black
6 = Indigo or Dark Blue
7 = No Color
8 = Orange
9 = Violet

If you notice, all of these colors are basically derived from VIBGYOR or the sequence of colors in the rainbow - violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange, and red. The other three numbers have Black, White, and No color. I refer you again to the first paragraph of this post that clearly states that for me color association was a conscious effort and i have been fairly successful.

Now, suppose you need to remember a number, say 53. In this case imagine a black stripe and a green stripe next to each other. I often will associate a small number with a food item. For instance, mint chocolate (think pillow chocolates in hotel rooms or dessert chocolates given in restaurants) is dark brown (almost black) and green in color. Thus, 53 corresponds to a mint chocolate as does 35. However, 35 in an "reverse mint chocolate." Does this make sense?

Let's take a bigger example. Let's consider the number 3,125,597,845. As we can see this is a 10 digit number and is most likely to show in phone number formats. Therefore, first break it down into the format we are used to seeing 10-digit numbers in --> 312-559-7845. Now, the first band of numbers is Green-Red-Blue; second band is Black-Black-Violet; and the last band is None-Orange-Yellow-Black. If you think in "stripes" of color corresponding to each number, you will find that the green-red-blue will remind you of many a childhood toy (children are attracted towards basic colors). The black-black-violet corresponds to a thick black stripe with a violet border - to me, it translates into a beautiful saree i had seen someone wear a long time ago. The last set of numbers is tricky because the first stripe has no color. However, Orange-yellow-black typically reminds me of bees or taxi-cabs (with a major nod to So----, who knitted a beautiful hat in those colors for my son). Thus, now i have to think of three objects instead of the sequence of numbers - favorite toy, saree, and taxi-cab hat. Thus, the sequence of numbers is 312-559-7845 (i wrote this from memory)...and double-checked... VOILA!!

I am going to let you all play around with this method...and make sure to post comments if you have questions about the method or need to clarify some visuals.

For the "Factor of 3" bandwagon, i am on: I have always associated the number 3 with green. Three looks like the top portion of a heart laid sideways. But it also looks like 2 consecutive petals of a flower. To me, 3 also represents femininity (think about it - it is an obvious reason why). All of these in my opinion have always represented fertility - which is embodied in the color 'green' - one of the first lessons we had on the Indian flag. "Green represents fertility and growth." Anyways, my point here being that when my son was born, he completed my circle of 3, and guess what his favorite color is? Remember, that my favorite number is 1 and favorite color is Red. Thus, my sub-conscious efforts were always to encourage him towards Red. However, i am proud to admit that despite my manipulations (they were not too many), my 3rd factor prefers the color green and learned how to say "Three" before any other number!!

Till tomorrow, or later...ADIOS!

And thus, it starts...

First and foremost, I want to thank my hubby and my awesome friends on Facebook (and in real life) whose encouragement was invaluable in beginning this blog! Now that acknowledgments are out of the way, let me get to the core concept of this blog.

Obviously, the name "a factor of 3" can mean so many things to so many people. Later in this post are some examples that you have all heard but probably never connected. My hope is to connect some of these dots and demonstrate the prowess of not only the number 3, but eventually other numbers as well.

My favorite number of all time, in the entire world, in every context is the beautiful number "1". One is a prime number, is its own infinite multiple, and its own infinite factor. It stands tall and proud, and dominates binary systems as well as decimal systems. I will eventually write a post entirely devoted to the beauty of one...

My second favorite number of all time is "2". The majestic two looks like a patient swan on water, surveying all around it and yet standing apart from it all. Two is also the first and only even prime number and has the power to cut any other even number to size! Again, i will eventually write a post devoted to the number two...

This begs the question, i hope, as to why i have titled this blog "A Factor of 3" rather than focusing on either 1 or 2. (Yes, i know that Reader's Digest and other grammar fanatics despise the use of "begs the question", but its my style, and I am going to stick with it! LOL).

Let me start by defining the word "Factor." A quick Google search results in multiple definitions and I want to encompass all of these within this blog.

3 is a powerful number, and the actual beauty of this number will be covered in the course of various posts. However, for a straightforward start - 3 is a prime number (only has factors 1 and 3) and is a summation of 1 and 2. It is the fifth element in the Fibonacci series and plays an important role in many aesthetic, religious, philosophical, and design elements. Most of us have seen the factor of 3 play a role in many of our beliefs and expressions, and yet it is not always conscious. Let us consider some examples:
1. All bad things happen in threes...
2. The Holy Trinity factor exists in every major religion and culture globally
3. All good things happen in threes...
4. If you are unsure about design, make sure to have 3 of each element type...
5. A triangular construction (3 sides, 3 angles) brings the eye to the apex...
6. Multiple food and diet pyramids are all constructed basically with three sides...
7. For my readers who have some exposure to political, managerial, or economic theory, the triangular element is often one of the best ways to demonstrate hierarchy...
8. A large majority of people can give you the third power of three (=27) but usually not beyond that...
9. 3 are the dimensions we deal with everyday in everything we do...

The list can go on...but my 3rd element (my son) is beckoning me to "wake up!!" - he forgets the difference between get up and wake up...so I will get going...

Till tomorrow, or later...adios!