Even people who are not particularly fond of numbers can have a soft spot for a certain number. Most often it is the number 7. For various reasons, many of us consider it happy and even a little magical.
Why is this number lucky?
Bestsellers often use the number 7 in their titles (for example, "The Seven Habits of Very Productive People"), articles use it to attract readers (for example, "The Seven Traits of Emotionally Strong People"), and the simple appearance of three sevens in a row. evokes positive emotions in people, even if they do not play slot machines and do not often appear in casinos.
What is it about this number? Why do we react so emotionally to it? Statistically, all numbers are equal - there is no better or worse.
The fact is that throughout our history the number 7 has played and continues to play a significant role in society, culture, religion, and even psychology. Here are 7 reasons why we are so attracted to this number.
The number 7 has been special since ancient times
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This can be seen in many ancient cultures. The most famous example of all is the seven "wonders of the world": the Pyramid of Cheops, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, the Colossus of Rhodes and the Lighthouse of Alexandria. Today there are seven new wonders of the world, not to mention the fact that each state seeks to highlight its own seven wonders.
Even in art, there is a division into seven liberal arts. There are seven notes in music, and intervals consisting of seven steps and seven semitones.
This number is important for almost every religion
In the Old Testament, the world was created in six days, and on the seventh God rested, which marked the beginning of the seven-day week, which we use to this day.
In the New Testament, 7 symbolizes the unity of the four corners of the world with the Holy Trinity. Number seven is also important in the Book of Revelation (seven churches, angels, seals and seven stars). The Qur'an speaks of seven heavens, and Muslim pilgrims circle the Kaaba in Mecca (the holy site of Islam) seven times. In Hinduism there are seven main chakras, seven higher worlds and the same number of lower worlds (as well as seven sacred cities, seas, mountains, deserts, islands and trees), and in Buddhism, a newborn Buddha rises and takes seven steps.
Number 7 is associated with luck and magical properties
The triple seven not only denotes the jackpot in slot machines, but its fortunate properties are deeply rooted in numerous myths and folklore of different cultures and peoples. For example, in various parts of the world there were beliefs about the seventh son of the seventh son. According to legend, he got magical properties of a different nature, depending on the folklore. For example, a child from Ireland had healing powers, while Romanian folklore foreshadowed him to become a vampire.
It corresponds to the volume of our short-term memory
In 1956, George Miller of Harvard University wrote a classic article on psychology in which he demonstrated that most people can store about seven different pieces of data in their short-term memory. This is why phone numbers in the United States and many other countries contain 7 digits, as it makes them easier to remember.
It suits our concentration too
Because of the cognitive abilities that comfortably hold seven pieces of new information in short-term memory, seven are also great for a gap in focusing on new information. This is why the number 7 is so popular in advertising, newsletters, news and entertainment articles, and the blogosphere. We can easily remember 7 facts, and it is easier for us to concentrate on seven points.
7 is a prime number
Prime numbers are those whole numbers that can only be divisible by two integers, by one and by themselves. Prime numbers have long been considered special to mathematicians and beyond. Seven, as believed by many ancient mathematicians and philosophers, the most "important" number in the top ten.
It is also important for other sciences besides mathematics. For example, in geometry 7 - the minimum number of equal sides of a polygon that cannot be constructed with a compass. And in chemistry, the periodic table has seven periods and seven crystalline systems of elements. In physics, the spectrum of visible colors is a rainbow, in which, as everyone knows, there are 7 colors. In addition, the international system of units lists exactly seven basic physical units of measurement.
Seven is the most popular number
Mathematician Alex Bellos conducted a survey among 44 thousand people, asking them to name their favorite number. More than 4 thousand of them named the number 7. It was chosen much more often than any other number. You can do a simple test yourself, ask people to name a number between one and ten, and many will name seven - a trick known to many magicians.
It is this combination of cultural, historical, religious, mathematical and psychological factors that accounts for the popularity of the number 7 and its impact on us.
Hope Chikanchi