5 ms·

4 is the new 3

by class4behavior 8y ago

4 is the new 3

all2 8y ago
4 has been the 3 of China for 4000 years.
- TremendousJudge 8y ago
  care to explain?
  - all2 8y ago
    Uhh, I'll do my best. At its simplest, in the West we have a thing for threes. Three bits of God, three little pigs, three branches of government (in the USA at least), "things come in threes", three books/movies in a series (a trilogy), stories that have a "beginning/middle/end". Bottom line, the West tends toward organizing and thinking of things in threes. Some might even be superstitious about threes (perhaps a Pythagorean influence). In China the number 4 plays a similar role. I don't know much about 'numerology' in China, save to say that recently the number 4 (which apparently sounds like 'death' in Chinese) has been considered bad luck. Here's a better explanation than I could give: https://www.quora.com/In-Chinese-culture-why-is-the-number-4-considered-unlucky/answer/June-Yu-10 https://www.quora.com/In-Chinese-culture-why-is-the-number-4...
    - amelius 8y ago
      Reminds me of the song "Three is a magic number".
    - blowski 8y ago
      Did the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy trilogy in four parts do well in China?
      - jclulow 8y ago
        The increasingly inaccurately named Hitchhiker's Guide Trilogy was, finally, in five parts; see Mostly Harmless.
        all2 8y ago
        Soon it will be 6 parts. For some reason they (whoever they are) have decided another book is a good idea.
    - OldFatCactus 8y ago
      In China the number 8 means wealth or fortune. It's not a coincidence that Brooklyn Chinatown is on 8th Ave. Their 'numerology' is interesting
      - stcredzero 8y ago
        My company just skipped the number 13 in a software version number.
        FabHK 8y ago
        In Hong Kong, "Chinese" buildings skip floor 4, 14, ..., while "Western" buildings skip floor 13. More recent culturally inclusive buildings skip floors 4, 13, 14, ... The most prestigious floors are 8 and 88. To add a complication, Chinese tends to use the US convention (with the ground floor being floor 1), while the English convention is the British one (with the ground floor being floor 0). By happy coincidence, then, the 13th floor is also 十四樓, ie the 14th floor, so you only need to skip one floor, rather than two. That explains why HK skyscrapers are so high.
      - philliphaydon 8y ago
        8 sounds like
    - greglindahl 8y ago
      4 seasons, the 4 corners of the world, the 4 cardinal directions, the 4 bodily humors (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humorism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humorism), you can find a ton of 4's in the West.
    - failsafe 8y ago
      3 is important in decision making because it makes it easier to form a consensus. If I disagree with your idea, you have another entity to act as an arbiter.

4 is the new 3

all2 8y ago

4 has been the 3 of China for 4000 years.

TremendousJudge 8y ago
care to explain?
- all2 8y ago
  Uhh, I'll do my best. At its simplest, in the West we have a thing for threes. Three bits of God, three little pigs, three branches of government (in the USA at least), "things come in threes", three books/movies in a series (a trilogy), stories that have a "beginning/middle/end". Bottom line, the West tends toward organizing and thinking of things in threes. Some might even be superstitious about threes (perhaps a Pythagorean influence). In China the number 4 plays a similar role. I don't know much about 'numerology' in China, save to say that recently the number 4 (which apparently sounds like 'death' in Chinese) has been considered bad luck. Here's a better explanation than I could give: https://www.quora.com/In-Chinese-culture-why-is-the-number-4-considered-unlucky/answer/June-Yu-10 https://www.quora.com/In-Chinese-culture-why-is-the-number-4...
  - amelius 8y ago
    Reminds me of the song "Three is a magic number".
  - blowski 8y ago
    Did the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy trilogy in four parts do well in China?
    - jclulow 8y ago
      The increasingly inaccurately named Hitchhiker's Guide Trilogy was, finally, in five parts; see Mostly Harmless.
      - all2 8y ago
        Soon it will be 6 parts. For some reason they (whoever they are) have decided another book is a good idea.
  - OldFatCactus 8y ago
    In China the number 8 means wealth or fortune. It's not a coincidence that Brooklyn Chinatown is on 8th Ave. Their 'numerology' is interesting
    - stcredzero 8y ago
      My company just skipped the number 13 in a software version number.
      - FabHK 8y ago
        In Hong Kong, "Chinese" buildings skip floor 4, 14, ..., while "Western" buildings skip floor 13. More recent culturally inclusive buildings skip floors 4, 13, 14, ... The most prestigious floors are 8 and 88. To add a complication, Chinese tends to use the US convention (with the ground floor being floor 1), while the English convention is the British one (with the ground floor being floor 0). By happy coincidence, then, the 13th floor is also 十四樓, ie the 14th floor, so you only need to skip one floor, rather than two. That explains why HK skyscrapers are so high.
    - philliphaydon 8y ago
      8 sounds like
  - greglindahl 8y ago
    4 seasons, the 4 corners of the world, the 4 cardinal directions, the 4 bodily humors (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humorism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humorism), you can find a ton of 4's in the West.
  - failsafe 8y ago
    3 is important in decision making because it makes it easier to form a consensus. If I disagree with your idea, you have another entity to act as an arbiter.