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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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”.
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