Lucky number 3

I just read another article on weddings on July 7 of this year (7-7-07). I have a numbers story of my own on crossword puzzles.

We bought a little crossword puzzles booklet a while back which one of us would pick up and play with. Somebody else would finish it. Then we started working in collaboration with one person saying the definition out loud and the other chiming in to help. But it wasn't until there were three of us participating that it got interesting.
It seems 3 is a magic number. We are funnier, faster and more efficient going through the crossword puzzle.

Here is the theory:
When three people are engaged in an activity, one is likely to be a more passive participant as the other two are debating. Being on the fringe, with no pressure, the third person comes up with a creative solution. Time and time again, we verified this theory. The quiet person (which varied) who seemed passive, actually contributed the tough words.

Think about that next time you want to exclude a third person in a decision-making process...