Imagine you're looking at the first digit of numbers 1 through 20. 50% of the numbers start with one.

Now imagine you're looking at the first digit of numbers from 1 to 50. 20% of them will start with one.

Now imagine you're looking at the first digit of numbers from 1 to 99. 10% of them will start with one.

So we have a trend here. In most situations, the number one is a more common first digit than other numbers. Only in very specific situations is it equally likely as other numbers.

Now imagine that you're looking at the first digit of numbers from 1 to 200. It's back up to 50% of those numbers starting with one. So you can say that the odds of a number starting with one varies between 10% and 50%, depending on the range of numbers you're looking at.

There's more to it than that, but that should at least give you an idea of the basic concept.

Imagine you're looking at the first digit of numbers 1 through 20. Half of the numbers start with one.

Now imagine you're looking at the first digit of numbers from 1 to 50. 20% of them will start with one.

Now imagine you're looking at the first digit of numbers from 1 to 99. 10% of them will start with one.

So we have a trend here. In most situations, the number one is a more common first digit than other numbers. Only in very specific situations is it equally likely as other numbers.

Now imagine that you're looking at the first digit of numbers from 1 to 200. It's back up to 50% of those numbers starting with one. So you can say that the odds of a number starting with one varies between 10% and 50%, depending on the range of numbers you're looking at.

There's more to it than that, but that should at least give you an idea of the basic concept.

Imagine you're looking at the first digit of numbers 1 through 20. Half of the numbers start with one.

Now imagine you're looking at the first digit of numbers from 1 to 50. 20% of them will start with one.

Now imagine you're looking at the first digit of numbers from 1 to 99. 10% of them will start with one.

So most of the time, the number one is a more common first digit than other numbers. Only in very specific situations is it equally likely as other numbers.

Now imagine that you're looking at the first digit of numbers from 1 to 200. It's back up to 50% of those numbers starting with one. So you can say that the odds of picking a random number that starts with one varies between 10% and 50%, depending on the range of numbers your're looking at.

Because of this trend for numbers to start with the number one more often in most situations, Benford's law can be used to tell if a set of numbers were created from measuring natural spontaneous phenomena, or was contrived.

Imagine you're looking at the first digit of numbers 1 through 20. Half of the numbers start with one.

Now imagine you're looking at the first digit of numbers from 1 to 50. 20% of them will start with one.

Now imagine you're looking at the first digit of numbers from 1 to 99. 10% of them will start with one.

So most of the time, the number one is a more common first digit than other numbers. Only in very specific situations is it equally likely as other numbers.

Now imagine that you're looking at the first digit of numbers from 1 to 200. It's back up to 50% of those numbers starting with one. So the odds of picking a random number that starts with one varies between 10% and 50%, depending on the range of numbers your're looking at.

Because of this trend for numbers to start with the number one more often in most situations, Benford's law can be used to tell if a set of numbers were created from measuring natural spontaneous phenomena, or was contrived.

Imagine you're looking at the first digit of numbers 1 through 20. Half of the numbers start with one.

Now imagine you're looking at the first digit of numbers from 1 to 50. 20% of them will start with one.

Now imagine you're looking at the first digit of numbers from 1 to 99. 10% of them will start with one.

So most of the time, the number one is a more common first digit than other numbers. Only in very specific situations is it equally likely as other numbers.

Now imagine that you're looking at the first digit of numbers from 1 to 200. It's back up to 50% of them starting with one.

Because of this trend for numbers to start with the number one more often in most situations, Benford's law can be used to tell if a set of numbers were created from measuring natural spontaneous phenomena, or was contrived.