For many of us, there are lucky numbers. Unlucky numbers. A favorite. Or a feeling that a specific number is simply more interesting than another. An indulgent example: I like the number 9. I picture it as both a square and a triangle, being the square of 3. When you multiply 9 by any number, the resulting sum reduces down to 9. For instance, 9x9=81, and 8+1=9. It goes along unendingly: 9x55=495; 4+9+5=18 and 1+8=9. Allakazam! | |
Anyway, cognitive dissonance aside, eleven elevens make 121, which seems mystical. Twenty-two of them is 242, while thirty-three of them is 363. Et cetera.
The possibility of deep nerdishness exists around any topic.
All this by way of introduction, really, to a couple of my favorite enthusiasts who dive into human perception of numbers (is 2 a masculine number or a feminine one?). Give yourself an hour of cool information and entertainment with Jad and Robert on this link to the...Radiolab podcast.