Magic Numbers
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How did the episode introduce the theme of numbers as emotional and cultural symbols?
This is the short edition of More or Less, first broadcast on the BBC World Service.
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Hello and welcome to More or Less on the BBC World Service. I'm Ruth Alexander and this week we're putting down the sword of statistical rigour, taking off the armour of analytical certainty and getting in touch with our sensitive side.
Three is a magic number, yes it is, it's a magic number.
This week, the programme's about love, magic, fear and death. We're talking about how we feel about numbers and about maths.
This is the love that dare not speak its name. People never talk about this sort of thing.
Helping us open our hearts to numbers is Alex Bellos, whose new book, Alex Through the Looking Glass, documents his quest to find the world's favourite number.
When I wrote my first book, people would come up to me and they would always say, so then, what's your favourite number? And this wound me up because I just thought, that is just saying that you don't take what I'm doing seriously.
But what is your favourite number?
That's things I don't have a favourite number. So I thought this was a silly thing to ask.
Why did Alex Bellos start a global poll to find the world’s favourite number?
And once I think I was at the end of my tether, it was probably a long day, and I just said, well, I don't know, what's your favourite number? And they said, ooh, 12 or ooh, 13. And it was a talk and I can remember thinking, really? And I said, put up your hands in the audience if you have a favourite number. And it was over half the people put their hands up. And so all of a sudden I thought, this is interesting.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12.
Alex set up a website asking people to nominate their favourite number. He got more than 30,000 responses from around the world, tallied up the votes, and the winner is... The world's favourite number you've discovered in your big survey is the number 7. What do you think that is?
Well, there's a classic psychology experiment which is think of a number between 1 and 10 off the top of your head and people say 7. Actually, there's a famous trick used by magicians which is, you know, I'm going to read your mind. Think of a number, think of a number. It's going to be a two-digit number, two-digit number between 1 and 50. Both odd numbers.
What evidence shows 7 is the world’s favourite number and why do people pick it?
They're not allowed to be the same, so you can't do 11, but 13 would be OK.
All right, let's just take a moment and let's see if Alex can read your mind too. So think of a two-digit number between 1 and 50. Both digits must be odd numbers and they're not allowed to be the same. Got it? OK, back to Alex.
And you are thinking of... 37.
37.
Yeah, most people say 37.
Oh, my goodness.
Why? Well, the psychology reasons are that certain numbers feel more random and more difficult. So if you were asked to say, think of a number randomly between 1 and 10, and you said 1, that doesn't feel very random. It's like the first one. And 10 doesn't feel random. 7 feels like it's the most random because...
Why are odd numbers like 3, 7 and 13 considered mystical or culturally significant?
because it's the most indivisible. It's the one that you can't get your head around. You know, the seven times table is the most difficult times table. And I think that the fact that some numbers are a bit more difficult arithmetically, it means they are kind of sticky. They've got more personality. They're spikier. They're just a bit more interesting. At the beginning of this, if someone would have said, Alex, can any number be more interesting than another number? I'd have said, that's kind of silly. That's sort of hocus pocus, mumbo jumbo numerology. But I think actually some numbers are more interesting than others and numbers do have a personality and that we should kind of embrace this fun.
So number seven was top of the list. In at number two on the global list of our favourite numbers was number three.
The past and the present and the future Faith and hope and charity The heart and the brain and the body Give you three as a magic number
three is culturally important because in the west anyway we live in a christian dominated culture and the three is the number of christianity is the holy trinity and isn't it interesting that the first two favorite numbers are both odd primes in western cultures odd numbers are much more mystical and spiritual one of the most mystical symbolic numbers in western society they are
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
How did the episode introduce the theme of numbers as emotional and cultural symbols?
0:00–1:31
2
Why did Alex Bellos start a global poll to find the world’s favourite number?
1:31–2:38
3
What evidence shows 7 is the world’s favourite number and why do people pick it?
2:38–3:23
4
Why are odd numbers like 3, 7 and 13 considered mystical or culturally significant?
3:23–4:50
5
How do different cultures treat lucky and unlucky numbers, such as 4 in East Asia?
4:50–6:42
6
Can number-based superstitions affect real behaviour and health outcomes?
6:42–8:18
7
How does Alex Bellos reflect on his personal connection to numbers and their role in everyday life?
8:18–9:31