Six.
Six is a number that seems simple enough at first glance. It comes after five and before seven. It’s the number of sides on a cube. It’s an even number that can be divided by both two and three. But as with most things in life, there is more to six than meets the eye.
In many cultures, six is considered a lucky number. In China, six is believed to represent wealth, and is often associated with the Chinese New Year. In Hindu mythology, there are six major chakras in the body, each representing a different aspect of life. And in ancient Greek mythology, there were six muses, each responsible for a different form of art.
But six can also be a number of sadness and tragedy. In German folklore, the Hexen sechs or witches’ six was a group of six witches who would gather in secret to plot evil deeds. And in Christianity, six is often associated with the devil, as he was believed to have been created on the sixth day of creation.
There are six continents on Earth (sorry, Antarctica, you don’t count), and six primary colors in the color wheel – red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. There are also six days of the week that end in -day (Monday, Tuesday, etc.), and six sides on a die (which is where the phrase roll the dice comes from).
In music, a sixteenth note is the shortest duration of a note commonly used in Western music. And in literature, the six-word story has become a popular form of storytelling, in which the author attempts to convey a complete story in just six words.
But perhaps the most interesting thing about six is its connections to mathematics. Six is a perfect number – meaning it is equal to the sum of its divisors (1, 2, and 3) – and is the second smallest perfect number after 2 It is also a highly composite number, meaning it has more divisors than any number less than it. And in geometry, the hexagon (a shape with six sides) is considered one of the most efficient shapes in terms of packing area.
So, what can we learn from all of this? That even a seemingly simple number like six can hold a wealth of meaning and significance. Whether it’s lucky or unlucky, a symbol of creativity or evil, or simply a useful mathematical tool, six is a number worth paying attention to.
