Why do we believe deaths come in threes?
MINNEAPOLIS — Earlier this month, the music world lost several legends.
Jimmy Buffet died. Steve Harwell, the lead singer of Smash Mouth, followed soon after. Then Gary Wright, who wrote the iconic 70s hit "Dream Weaver," died as well.
That trio struck a chord with some on social media with many citing "the rule of threes."
"I think bad things come in threes … and deaths are associated with bad things," said Caren, as she walked through the Sculpture Garden at the Walker Art Center.
Her mindset is one that's often associated with celebrity deaths. One of the most well-known instances was in 2009. Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett died on the same day, with Ed McMahon passing the day before.
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In 2016, actors Alan Thicke and Carrie Fisher, and musician George Michael all died within a 10-day span.
Pop culture even makes it a storyline. An episode of the TV show "30 Rock" is built around the premise of one of its characters being worried about becoming the third celebrity death.
"It feels like there's something way back in human history that may have started this whole thing," said Ira.
"I think it's natural just for people to look for patterns," added R.J.
Dr. John Hoopes, an anthropology professor at the University of Kansas, would agree.
"One thing happens by accident, a second thing happens by chance. If you see it happening three times, then that establishes a pattern," said Dr. Hoopes.
But are the recent three celebrity deaths actually a pattern? In the United States alone, one person dies every 11 seconds, according to the U.S. Census. In that same time span, about 20 people will have died worldwide.
"There's no relationship between these three deaths, there's no reason why they're connected at all. It's random data in which we see a pattern," said Dr. Hoopes.
Finding a pattern in random data is called "apophenia." One example is noticing that the time on a clock is 11:11, but not caring or noticing if it was 11:12 when you looked.
"When we recognize a pattern we remember the hits and we forget the misses. Meaning that some coincidence sticks in our mind," he said.
Finding patterns in our surroundings is second nature, a survival tactic according to Dr. Hoopes. If people are taught to be careful of snakes in the woods, they might be careful at the first sight of a long stick embedded in grass.
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"That's one of the things that human beings are able to do, to recognize predators in the bush, to recognize fruits in the tree," said Dr. Hoopes.
Maybe in the case of celebrity deaths, it comes down to the number involved.
"Three has always been a sacred number that we come back to over and over again," said Dr. Hoopes.
"It's everywhere. The trinity in the bible," said R.J., which references the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Some referenced how a church has three points in the front, usually a center spire that is flanked by two lower spires or towers. Beyond religious references, the "rule of threes" is applied in many facets of life, including lighter topics. There's the Three Stooges, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, and Three Blind Mice.
The "rule of threes" can imply that something has a beginning, a middle, and an end.
"There are threes all around us if you care to look for them," said R.J.
