One of my friends is sure the number '37' is 'the most random' number. He says there is actually mathematical proof of this, but I reckon that any number which is 'the most random' is not random anymore. Who is right?

neon000

How can any one number, by itself, be more or less random than any other? By definition, random means picked out of nowhere. I'm sorry but the question seems to make no sense. Mar 31 07, 6:20 AM

Baloo55th

I can't quite see the randomness of 37 all by itself either. Numbers can be linked to other numbers, but even prime numbers are not random in themselves. Mar 31 07, 8:55 AM

What-A-Mess

As you say ......If the Number 37 is "The Most Random Number....", by definition it can not be since it is categorized as "the most". It has been quantified. Quantification negates randomness! Mar 31 07, 8:58 AM

star_gazer

This site agrees with Hagelslag's friend's theory concerning 37 and it being the most randomn number, however it does not give mathematical proof. http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/creatures/pages/random.html Mar 31 07, 9:49 AM

peasypod

See? There IS a point why the numbers only reach to 36 on a Roulette wheel... Mar 31 07, 10:00 AM

Terry

Well, the question is whether PEOPLE pick 37 more often than others as a "random" number. Given that we are possibly very poor random-number-generators (it's even tricky to program a computer well to do this), it is possible that 37 could be chosen more often by people than other numbers. I don't buy it though. People are far more often asked to choose between 1 and 10 or 1 and 20. Therefore, the "most often picked random number by human beings" has got to be very small. You don't, afterall, hear someone say "i want you to pick a number between 35 and 40" very often, but "between 1`and 5" and "1 and 10" would be far more common. Mar 31 07, 10:20 AM

zbeckabee

I have been 37 years old for 53 straight years...there's nothing random about it... :) Mar 31 07, 12:12 PM

queproblema

See #49385, which popped up on that new scrolling feature on the homepage. I thought we weren't supposed to "dredge up" old questions unless we had useful imput.... Wow, Zbeck! I didn't realize you were 90 years old! Or did you start claiming to be 37 before you really were? Apr 01 07, 11:34 PM