Something different for a change – numbers, preferences and disappointed expectations

Dear LinkedIn community,

Do you also have special feelings about some numbers?

I can't explain why, but I generally prefer odd numbers to even numbers and I especially like prime numbers.

I find the zero and the one rather boring.

My first favorite number is 3, followed by 5 and 13.

I once had a breakdown on my bike on a Friday the 13th when I was a teenager - there was a hole in the tube; in my very unprofessional attempts to fix it, I kept “patching” new holes in the tube using a screwdriver... but nothing can change my mind: 13 is a lucky number - that's just how it is! 😉

I just think the 17 is really cool. Maybe also because of Achim Reichel and his song “Spieler”. „Und der Spieler setzt alles auf eine Zahl Auf den höchsten Sieg und auf die tiefste Qual Er setzt alles auf die siebzehn und siebzehn fällt – Und mit einem Streich hat er das fünfunddreißigfache Geld!“

(Meaning: And the player bets everything on one number To the highest victory and the deepest torment He bets everything on seventeen and seventeen falls – And in one fell swoop he has thirty-five times as much money!”)

My risk appetite is somewhat above average and I like to play the lottery – but I didn't get the 17 in the casino (and luckily I'm not addicted to gambling – I just like the 17!).

And then of course the 23! Simply great: There is an emotional connection here and my memories of Rafael Van der Vaart, who always wore this number on his two assignments with HSV in the 2000s. He gave me some happy moments with my favorite club - something I have only been able to dream about for years...

8 and 32 are exceptions.

A former colleague of mine (from Vietnam, married to a Chinese man) once explained to me that the number 8 is a lucky number in China (which is why I have had a game 77 number on my permanent system ticket for many years that has 4 8s at the end). It will definitely be a hit at some point – that’s for sure! 32 is the year my father was born, of course that is a good number - there is nothing to discuss.

I just love prime numbers! What a strange phenomenon. I just like these numbers; they are something special! Well, some people might say: only divisible by themselves and 1, so what? I simply recommend “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night” by Mark Haddon, a slim book with… an impressive last page count (but it’s also a good story!).

2000 and larger?

I remember it very well: It was a summer day in the 70s and I was lying on the dike with my best friend.

We talked about the distant future – the year 2000. At that time, I devoured Perry Rhodan. Hundreds of these weekly booklets of the longest-running science fiction series in the world. And I expected: by 2000, we will have found a way to partially cancel out gravity and everyone will have a glider and fly. So, no more cars with tires and everyone will use the 3rd dimension - no more traffic jams and we will all be pilots!

What a disappointment: 2024 and still cars with wheels! No such thing as "partially eliminating gravity" - now more like the collapse of the infrastructure throughout Germany. How wrong one can be. In general, the 2000s have been a disappointment for me so far (if you look around in one of the – mostly stationary – (S-Bahn or U-Bahn) trains, most people are staring at their cell phones, and the latest gag in the car is that it constantly makes an annoying beeping sound if you drive too fast! I think it’s time for a “real cracker” again! Who will finally find the key to eliminating gravity?

Maybe 2027 will bring the breakthrough?

In any case, I remain full of hope – even if the 2000s have disappointed me a little so far.

At least there have been breakthroughs in age research, and I can even work on living to 113 myself – while maintaining physical and mental well-being. Who knows, maybe things will move so quickly on this front that, with the help of medical developments, I can live to 100 for another 27 years – 127 is also a great prime number!

Do you also have a special relationship with (some) numbers?

In any case, have a nice weekend and warm greetings from the far north

Kai