Threesomes, the magic of 3

• By Michael Smart
• February 17, 2015
• 2 Comments

I enjoy the delight of a threesome when I’m writing. And if I manage to conjure a three-word alliteration, so much the better. I didn’t realize its significance initially. It wasn’t something I’d been taught. Rather I seemed to have assimilated the magical allure of threesomes through a lifetime of reading, discovering only later, I’d been subconsciously practicing the “rule of three”. What is the rule of three? And why is it so magical?

Since the dawn of public oratory and literature, someone figured out things presented in threes are inherently funnier, more understandable, and more memorable (there’s a threesome right there). This tripling was expressed in Latin as “omne trium perfectum” (everything in threes is perfect), and it has a powerful subconscious affect on our psyche, though it’s not known exactly why. Something to do with how our brain recognizes patterns. Three, not two, or four, (I like that numerical threesome) seems to be the magic number, the minimum number of elements our brain needs to form a pattern. It’s a powerful communicative tool long recognized and used by writers, public speakers, and marketers (now there’s a threesome). You encounter it every day, in all walks of life, though you may be completely unaware of it.

• In religion: The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; The three wise men, and their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh; Faith, hope, and charity;
• In movies: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly; Sex, Lies, and Videotape; The Three Stooges; The Three Musketeers;
• In books: The trilogy;
• In music: The three note triad, the basic building blocks of musical harmony.
• In comics: Truth, Justice, and the American Way;
• In fairy tales: Three little Pigs; “I’ll huff, and I’ll puff, and I’ll blow your house down.” Three blind mice;
• In government: Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; the French motto liberte, egalite, fraternite;
• In law: “The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth…”;
• In sports: Citius, Altius, Fortius or Faster, Higher, Stronger;
• In Public safety: Stop, look, listen; Stop, drop, roll; “Police! Don’t move!”
• In public oratory: “I came, I saw, I conquered,” (Julius Caesar); “Friends, Romans, Countrymen,” (Julius Caesar); “We cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow, this ground,” (Abraham Lincoln); “Government of the people, by the people, for the people,” (Abraham Lincoln); “Duty, honor, country,” (Douglas MacArthur); “Justice, good will, and brotherhood,” (Dr. Martin Luther King).
• In advertising: Finger lickin’ good; Snap, crackle, pop; Just do it; I’m lovin’ it.

See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil;

The rule of three is thought to create a progression easily recognized, understood, and memorized (that threesome again) by our brain, and is used in all aspects of communication to create tension, build it up, and finally release it (another threesome). Comedians exploit this pattern recognition in our brain by using the rule of three to set up the joke, build anticipation, then stick the punch line with something unexpected and absurd. Authors, playwrights, and screenwriters, use it as a primary structure in storytelling, the three acts so to speak – beginning, middle, and end. And in creating plot and character arcs – hero, problem, solution. Painters and photographers use a similar device known as the rule of thirds, to compose images pleasing to the visual center of the brain.

The rule of three derives its magical mojo from the special pleasure this combination provides to our brain. It is a technique every writer should learn, practice, and master. With it, you’re able to:
 
• Add completeness to the thoughts and concepts being expressed;
• Add emphasis, impact, and clarity;
• Add pace, rhythm, and flow to the writing;

So embrace the threesome, it’ll make you a better communicator and story teller.

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