Pick a number between 1 and 10...

djmcmath · 04-05-2006, 12:37 PM

...but don't post it in this thread, PM it to me. I'm conducting an entirely unscientific poll on the numbers that people pick when they're not thinking about what number to pick. Thanks.

When I have enough results to say anything interesting, I'll update the thread.

bryanthompson · bryanthompson's Garage

Nobody pick number 3. Come on, it'll be hilarious.

widebody911 · widebody911's Garage

Or how about if everybody picks 8? Even better!

legion · 04-05-2006, 01:01 PM

D'oh!

djmcmath · 04-05-2006, 01:31 PM

I should have specified "integer" rather than "number" with this crowd. If you pick pi, e, the square root of 2, or "the number of hairs on GW's ass," I will round to the nearest integer.

Porsche-O-Phile · Porsche-O-Phile's Garage

And how do you exactly know the number of hairs on GW's ass?

djmcmath · 04-05-2006, 01:46 PM

God told me.

BlueSkyJaunte · 04-05-2006, 02:41 PM

Well my scale of 1 to 10 goes to 11. So I pick 11.

Jim Richards · 04-05-2006, 02:52 PM

crank it up to 11.

djmcmath · 04-06-2006, 03:03 AM

Thanks for the replies. Up to about 85 data points. Keep 'em coming!

djmcmath · 04-06-2006, 12:34 PM

Ok, not bad. I'm up to over 100 responses, and the data is falling out pretty nicely. As suspected, people suck at picking random numbers -- 3 and 7 have clear dominance, at about 40% of the total take. Those who picked 7 often followed with some variation on the theme of "lucky." Nobody said anything about 3.

8 and 9 follow closely. Those who picked 8 often noted "Everybody picks 7, so I felt like I wanted to be different." (But apparently not different enough to be honestly unique, because quite a lot said that...) Those who picked 9 often noted "It's my favorite number."

The only people to pick 10 were Pelicans, a fact I find interesting. Most of the people who picked 1 commented "I'm trying to break your distribution curve."

Noah930 · Noah930's Garage

Riveting.

nostatic · nostatic's Garage

6 sucks

nostatic · nostatic's Garage

did you track cultural information? There are biases depending on where you grew up.

gassy · 04-06-2006, 03:08 PM

This is a weiner chart, and you're all adding an inch.

djmcmath · 04-06-2006, 03:26 PM

I should have taken more data. It should have been a full-fledged personality survey. I'll bet that, given the number, you could tell a lot more about a person. But I didn't. All I have is the numbers.

Gassy, if you're right, I'm seriously concerned about the guys who picked "1."