Why do so many of us prefer our tv volumes to be multiples of 5? Why is there positive bias towards multiples of 5 and 2 in general? Why is there a negative bias towards odd numbers? Like when we try to come up with random numbers we mostly come up with odd numbers. Maths is a concept thats purely created by humans rather than being some natural phenomenon so why do such biases exist?
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We use base 10, and 2 and 5 are the factors of 10.
We use base 10 because we have 10 fingers, there’s nothing special about 10.
Math is a biased concept purely created by humans, which we use to define many things in life. Make sense that we are also defined by those biased concepts.
What does it mean if you always go for odd numbers?
I always go 3, 7, 13.
I dont know why.
It’s all based on how we are taught to do math, in base 10. Let’s say you have a volume number show up, 20 is to quiet and 30 is to loud, after having base10 drilled in our heads we subconsciously meet in the middle at 25. My tv doesn’t have numbers that you can easily see so it’s just on a random number at any given time.
As to why people typically choose odd numbers when asked to pick randomly, it has a lot to do with how bad people are at randomness. For many people, even numbers tend to “feel” nicer, because we know we can divide them in half easily. They feel more well behaved. So, in that sense, when we are asked to choose a random number, a typical unconscious priority in our head is to avoid any overt sense of preference, and the pick of any even number feels like one based on preference. Thus, we tend to avoid them in this scenario. An odd number (especially one not ending in 5) strikes us as something we wouldn’t ordinarily choose so it feels more “random”.
According to this online study that isn’t true when it comes to pick favorite numbers:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/most-popular-numbers-grapes-of-math/
Multiples of 5 are actually rare.
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