# Do you assign personalities to numbers? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 3, 2015, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-assign-personalities-to-numbers/729796 "2015-09-03T08:12:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-assign-personalities-to-numbers/729796/1 "2015-09-03T08:12:53Z")
This thread was prompted by the current survey on xkcd, one question of which is which number (out of 1 to 5) is your favourite. From a very early age when I first learned numbers, I somehow developed very strong ideas about the personalities of the digits. I still can’t help but think of them this way: 0 - a ghost. Real but slips away if you try to interact. 1 - stupid but workmanlike 2 - like your little brother, sort of playful 3 - not entirely trustworthy. Related to 9 4 - motherly, friendly, protective, nice to everyone 5 - paternal, a bit tough but practical and gets the job done 6 - your older brother, when he’s in a good mood and plays with you 7 - a bit strange, that weird girl who lives down the street and dresses funny and never joins in 8 - a stern but friendly authority figure. 9 - a dark witchy character. Quite powerful and not always nice. Anyone else? ---
**Author:** ![AnaMen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@AnaMen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnaMen)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-assign-personalities-to-numbers/729796/2 "2015-09-03T11:33:53Z")
Why would I assign them when they have their own already? ---
**Author:** ![ElderSign](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eldersign/32/8263_2.png) [@ElderSign](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElderSign)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-assign-personalities-to-numbers/729796/3 "2015-09-03T12:00:30Z")
0- The unseen Force of the universe 1- The loneliest number that you’d ever do 2- Can be as bad as one 3- The Holy Trinity 4- The Four Horseman (Ric Flair, Tully Blanchard, Arn Anderson, and Barry Windham- not Ole) 5- Odd 6- Number Six, from The Prisoner 7- Micky Mantle 8- The reason that 7 ate 9 9- Heaven ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-assign-personalities-to-numbers/729796/4 "2015-09-03T12:21:54Z")
My initial reaction was “no, that’s dumb,” but I thought about it a bit. I think I perceive 7 as kind of brusque. Maybe it’s because of the very decisive strokes involved in writing it. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-assign-personalities-to-numbers/729796/5 "2015-09-03T13:44:49Z")
I’ve never thought about numbers having a personality, I can’t quite wrap my head around that. OTOH, when I’m doing math I usually root for the number 6 to appear more often in the answer than number 8. For instance, a result of 548,688 makes me a little sad while 546,866 makes me a little happier. No idea why. ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-assign-personalities-to-numbers/729796/6 "2015-09-03T13:53:36Z")
No. No I don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-assign-personalities-to-numbers/729796/7 "2015-09-03T14:20:08Z")
> [@Claverhouse](#): > > No. No I don’t. Same here. I’m a little fascinated at the relationship people have with numbers, though. I mean, I do have a go-to number when choosing a uniform or something, that being 12. But it’s just a number like all the others. ---
**Author:** ![chowching](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@chowching](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowching)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-assign-personalities-to-numbers/729796/8 "2015-09-03T16:21:08Z")
Not personalities but colors. 0 is white 2 is red 3 is green 4 is blue 5 is yellow 6 is red 7 is blue ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-assign-personalities-to-numbers/729796/9 "2015-09-03T16:28:38Z")
For me it’s gender: 1 - male 2 - female 3 - female 4 - female 5 - male 6 - female 7 - male 8 - male 9 - female 10 - male ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-assign-personalities-to-numbers/729796/10 "2015-09-03T16:34:02Z")
Sure do! Oddly enough, they are all connected to the **Multiplication Rock** cartoons. Love that Lucky Seven. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-assign-personalities-to-numbers/729796/11 "2015-09-03T16:46:40Z")
Only to pi, because you can’t have a conversation with it. It just goes on and on and on… ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-assign-personalities-to-numbers/729796/12 "2015-09-03T16:57:52Z")
See [ideasthesia.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideasthesia) I don’t assign personalities to numbers, but I do associate other odd qualities such as colors/brightness/moods with them. 1 - simple, bland 2 - cold, hard 3 - warm, thin 4 - sharp, pressing 5 - worrisome 6 - relieved, but cold 7 - warm, bright, sunny 8 - hot, big, enough for everyone 9 - uncomfortably bloated [Daniel Tammet,](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Tammet) a savant, describes qualities for every integer up to 10,000. He appears not to be making them up, as he is consistent in his reporting for each number. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-assign-personalities-to-numbers/729796/13 "2015-09-03T16:58:16Z")
There are only two numbers, 0 and 1. I like 1 a lot better than 0. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-assign-personalities-to-numbers/729796/14 "2015-09-03T17:01:07Z")
After thinking about it, I guess I kind of do. 1 - nice guy; kind of rakish 2 - priggish young lady 3- kind of a tomboy 4 - practical (and for some reason, blonde) 5 - sort of a frat boy type 6 - cocquettish 7 - big man on campus sort, but not quite as wild as 5 8- wise, fat old uncle 9 - matronly, sensible 10- Bossy but dependable ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-assign-personalities-to-numbers/729796/15 "2015-09-03T18:26:50Z")
[Relevant.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1cnJ_pOAdQ) ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-assign-personalities-to-numbers/729796/16 "2015-09-03T18:32:48Z")
No personalities, but I do have to say that some numbers just seem preferable to me somehow. Often they include 7 and 3 and are often prime. 3, 7, 13, 17, 21, 27, 37. My locker number in high school was 113 and I thought that was just the best. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-assign-personalities-to-numbers/729796/17 "2015-09-03T18:33:46Z")
only 69. Friendly ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-assign-personalities-to-numbers/729796/18 "2015-09-03T18:53:35Z")
I did when I was little. I liked the even numbers better, and thought nine was just mean. I think it’s because I was learning about addition, and had found out that adding nine to a number made the ones digit decrease by one. So 15 + 9 was 24, and the ones digit in the answer was now a 4. Well, it made sense at the time. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-assign-personalities-to-numbers/729796/19 "2015-09-03T19:01:43Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > There are only two numbers, 0 and 1. I like 1 a lot better than 0. There are 10 kinds of people? ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-assign-personalities-to-numbers/729796/20 "2015-09-03T19:14:04Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > This thread was prompted by the current survey on xkcd, one question of which is which number (out of 1 to 5) is your favourite. > > From a very early age when I first learned numbers, I somehow developed very strong ideas about the personalities of the digits. I still can’t help but think of them this way: > > 0 - a ghost. Real but slips away if you try to interact. > 1 - stupid but workmanlike > 2 - like your little brother, sort of playful > 3 - not entirely trustworthy. Related to 9 > 4 - motherly, friendly, protective, nice to everyone > 5 - paternal, a bit tough but practical and gets the job done > 6 - your older brother, when he’s in a good mood and plays with you > 7 - a bit strange, that weird girl who lives down the street and dresses funny and never joins in > 8 - a stern but friendly authority figure. > 9 - a dark witchy character. Quite powerful and not always nice. > > Anyone else? No, that is so dumb. 4 and 7 are male and 8 is jolly, not stern. 3 and 6 are female. Other than that though, you got most of them right. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-assign-personalities-to-numbers/729796.md?page=2)