Jul 16, 2021 3 min read

Opinions Are (Mostly) Free (Newsletter 003)

Greetings friends! James Bellerjeau here.

Three is a powerful number, as far as these things go. It is in fact the third most powerful. Ask a decorator how many items they group together to finish a room. It is three. One, two, or four just don't look as good.

A poet will tell you that lists of three items roll off the tongue better than any other combination. A lawyer will know that three descriptors are necessary to illustrate a concept properly. Fewer leave you exposed to misunderstanding, and more starts to try the patience of the reader.

Perhaps you've heard the expressions "Third time's the charm," or "Third time pays for all." Or you may have encountered the Buddha's saying, "Three things cannot long be hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth."

If you want to know if a number, any number, is divisible by three, add up the integers in the number. If the sum of the integers is itself divisible by three, the number is as well. Example: is 2,345,322 divisible by three? The sum of the integers is 21, which is divisible by three. Thus, the number is itself divisible by three.

What happens when you divide numbers by 0, 1, or 2 gives you a clue to the other two most powerful numbers. But that is a topic for another day, and perhaps a different blog.

My Two Cents Series

This week I want to introduce the third bucket on Klugne.com, the My Two Cents series.

The common thread running through this series is human psychology: how we think, what we think, and how we can be led astray by our thoughts and those of others. Here we cover: questionable science, current politics, provocative statistics, predictable incentives, and more.

I cover here topics that arouse strong emotions and typically give rise to some of the deepest disagreements among well-meaning people. Some good examples to introduce you to this series include Nutrition Advice Gives Me Indigestion and Ways To Make Politics Better.

I am often prompted to write because a topic gets me excited. You may feel my own emotions come through. Because of this I know there is a greater risk of offending some readers. I am not intentionally trying to offend anyone. See About Klugne for my thoughts on this, as well as the comments I made in the prior Newsletter 002.

I will be making some articles available only to paying subscribers, because these readers are most likely to accept the premise of Klugne.com: open exploration of interesting topics. I trust the audience will not take offense at small (or even larger) provocation.

I do plan to keep most articles free. This includes the entire Moral Letters series, because the world is a better place the more people are at peace with themselves. In that spirit, you will be pleased to note that I have posted letters 005 On The Stealth Philosopher and 006 On Sharing Wisdom.

I wish you happy reading.

Be well.

P.S. See Contact for additional ways to reach me.