ReadersDigestAustraliaNewZealand-March2018

March• 2018 | 97

wordfa-,signifying prosperity, came in
third. Second place went to the num-
ber three, perhaps for its many ap-
pearances in nature and culture: the
number of leaves on a typical clover,
little pigs pursued by a certain wolf,
musketeers in the Dumas novel, and
wishes offered by genies.
Very specific numbers with regular
gigs in geometry also proved popu-
lar.Morethan400peoplevotedfor
pi (3.14), and 103 voted for 1.618,
whichinmathematicsisknownas
thegoldenratioorthedivinepropor-
tionandiscommonlyseeninnature
and design.
But the clear winner is the number
seven, raking in nearly ten
per cent of the total vote.
Shocked? If you’ve ever
been to a casino, probably
not. But seven’s triumph
also reaffirms a human
fascination that goes back
thousands of years. Bellos
points out that ancient
Babylonian tablets were
riddled with sevens. There
are also seven dwarfs,
seven samurai, seven
deadly sins and seven days
of the week. We even speak

of seventh heaven as the ultimate

happiness.

But all of this, Bellos suspects, is

the effect and not the cause of our

sevenfold obsession. He posits that

seven is a stone-cold rebel that fol-

lows no rules but its own.

“Seven is the only number among

those we can count on our hands,

one to ten, that cannot be divided or

multiplied within the group,” Bellos

explains. One, two, three, four and

five can each be doubled to reach

two, four, six, eight and ten. Nine is

divisible by three. Seven, then, is the

only number between two and ten

that is neither a multiple nor a fac-

tor of the others. In this

way, ‘lucky number seven’

stands alone.

“It’s unique; it’s a loner,

the outsider. And humans

interpret this arithmetical

property in cultural ways,”

Bellos says.

As for the real loneliest

number? It isn’t one, which

came in 21st. The smallest

whole number that didn’t

receiveasinglevote,110,is

inasoloclassof loneliness

all its own.

MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE

Science question: Why is there no such thing as enough pizza?

@JOSHGONDELMAN

THE TOP 10

NUMBERS

1. 7


2. 3


3. 8


4. 4


5. 5


6. 13


7. 9


8. 6


9. 2


10. 11