31 lines
1.3 KiB
Markdown
31 lines
1.3 KiB
Markdown
# benfords-law
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This was a test to determine if random numbers follow [Benford's Law](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benford%27s_law). I suspect it has more to do with the distribution real life data collected from than truly random numbers. If this is true, maybe this is why it works for fraud detection.
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### Results
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With One-Hundred-Million samples of random numbers between 0 and 9,999,999,999,999,999, the number of leading digits was the following:
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```shell
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$ ./benfords-law.exe
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2020/11/14 10:24:18 generating numbers...
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2020/11/14 10:24:19 18% completed generating and analyzing samples
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2020/11/14 10:24:20 37% completed generating and analyzing samples
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2020/11/14 10:24:21 56% completed generating and analyzing samples
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2020/11/14 10:24:22 75% completed generating and analyzing samples
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2020/11/14 10:24:23 93% completed generating and analyzing samples
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2020/11/14 10:24:24 done.
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1: 1108503 (11.085030%)
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2: 1111584 (11.115840%)
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3: 1111726 (11.117260%)
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4: 1111122 (11.111220%)
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5: 1110443 (11.104430%)
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6: 1111248 (11.112480%)
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7: 1111496 (11.114960%)
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8: 1111777 (11.117770%)
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9: 1112101 (11.121010%)
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Press 'Enter' to continue...
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```
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This shows that Benford's law only works when the data is not random, such as natural data gathered in real life. This is because natural data is generated following a power law, which is common in nature.
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