The Devil's Dictionary and repetition

[Lynne Murphy]

Andrea Vine asked:>
> On repetition:
>
> Today I was relating a story of a contentious meeting between me and someone who
> works in the same firm.  I found myself repeating things 3 times for emphasis.
> When I stopped to think about it, I remember hearing other folks doing the same
> thing.  I even remember one of my Russian instructors doing it (for
> correction).  What is it about 3 times, as opposed to some other number?  Is it
> part of a certain set of languages, or is it some innate human tendency?


i have some vague memory that 3 is a magic number in memory studies, but
apparently this wasn't repeated to me 3 times, because i can't remember for
sure...

lynne