The publication date of this column is March 7th, making it the perfect opportunity to focus on the number seven! Some years ago, I encountered a fascinating article in a psychology magazine that delved into the remarkable power of this number. The author argued convincingly that seven is more than just a number – it holds a distinct significance in human history, culture, and even the way we think. Here are some of the most intriguing reasons why ‘seven’ continues to captivate us.
(Please note that I have summarised and taken information from a couple of sources: https://www.psychologytoday.com, https://badseypublications.co.uk)
To begin with, seven is the most popular number worldwide. Mathematician Alex Bellos conducted a survey with 44,000 participants, asking them to name their favourite number. Over 4,000 people selected seven—far more than any other number. In fact, if you ask someone to pick a number between one and ten, the majority will choose seven.
The number seven has held significance since ancient times and across various civilizations. Among the most famous associations are the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. In ancient Mesopotamian culture, particularly in Babylon, seven was linked to the seven celestial bodies visible without a telescope: the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. This connection led to the seven-day week, a system we still use today. The ancient Egyptians associated seven with the afterlife and divine perfection. The Book of the Dead refers to seven gates leading to the underworld, and many rituals required actions to be performed seven times to achieve spiritual power.
The number seven is important in nearly every major religion. In the Old Testament, the world was created in six days, and God rested on the seventh, establishing the foundation for the seven-day week we follow today. The Book of Revelation prominently features the number seven (seven churches, seven angels, seven seals, seven trumpets, and seven stars). In Islam, the Quran mentions seven heavens, and during the Hajj pilgrimage, Muslims circle the Kaaba, Islam’s holiest site, seven times. Hinduism speaks of seven higher worlds and seven underworlds, while in Buddhism, it is said that the newborn Buddha took seven steps upon rising.
In 1956, George Miller published a paper titled The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two: Some Limits on Our Capacity for Processing Information. His research demonstrated that humans tend to process and recall about seven pieces of information at a time. One example of this is ‘digit span’—you can test this yourself by asking someone to repeat a sequence of numbers you say. Start with four random digits, which they will likely remember correctly. Increase the number progressively to five, six, and so on. The highest number they recall accurately is their digit span, which for most people is around seven. A similar experiment involves briefly displaying a pattern of dots and asking someone to count them. If the number is below seven, they will likely be correct, but with more than seven, mistakes are common.
Finally, here are some quick facts about the number seven:
- It is a prime number (a number divisible only by itself and one).
- There are seven days in a week.
- Seven is considered a lucky number – think of getting three sevens on a slot machine…
- The world consists of seven continents (Africa, Asia, Europe, Australia, North America, South America, and Antarctica).
- In slot machines, landing three sevens in a row often results in a big win. Likewise, several casino games emphasize the number seven as a winning number.
- The Seven Deadly Sins include greed, envy, gluttony, lust, pride, sloth, and wrath.
- A rainbow consists of seven colours.
- In Britain, 20p and 50p coins each have seven sides.
- The record for being struck by lightning and surviving is seven times, by Roy Sullivan, a park ranger from Virginia, USA.
- Netball and water polo teams both consist of seven players.
- The soft drink 7-UP is iconic.
- One of the most famous fairy tales is Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.
- The human body has seven primary chakras.
Parent problem of the week
In the spirit of the number seven:
As I was going to St Ives,
I met a man with seven wives,
Each wife had seven sacks,
Each sack had seven cats,
Each cat had seven kits:
Kits, cats, sacks and wives,
How many were going to St Ives?
How many were going to St Ives?
Solution to last week’s problem
Last week I decided to cycle to my Grandparents’ house.
On the 1st day, I cycled half of the distance.
On the 2nd day, I cycled one half of the remaining distance.
On the 3rd day, I cycled three quarters of the remaining distance.
On the 4th day, I cycled 10 miles.
On the 5th day, I cycled two thirds of the remaining distance.
On the final day, I cycled the remaining 5 miles.
How far is it to my Grandparent’s house?
The answer is 400 miles.