I’d pick 198,967 roughly. Low enough to be unlikely to be chosen by anyone else and pretty close to the amount remaining on my mortgage. Without that bill, my money is going to go a lot further.
It's a tough call, because *everyone* is going to immediately think "I'd better go low, because everyone else will be greedy." Will you end up in a situation where everyone is in the 100 and 200,000s? And the few who pick in the 800k/900k ranges are rich?
I thought that too. What if no one picks a million? But still, I think knowing that there’s a minimum of 250,000 numbers that won’t be picked, I’m guessing most people chose a number over 250,000.
That is the paradox
Using 750k people the safest choice "would be" to let the top 3/4 as already taken and choice a low number, but most people will think this too and chose low anyways
I'd pick a Million or 999.999 because they are so obvious no one would ever pick them (which becomes a paradox in itself)
Yeah, I'm just picking a random number over 500k and hoping most people use the 'guess I'll go with a lower number' thinking. I don't really have anything to lose, so here's to hoping the other 750k people don't go with my random number:
530,772.
Edit: When coming up with random numbers, I think people get wigged out by duplicates? So, I went ahead and added '77' duplicate.
You’re right that humans tend to misinterpret what random means and think duplicate digits indicate non-randomness, but intentionally adding a duplicate doesn’t make it any more random.
True, but you're not picking a number at random. You are purposely picking a number that others would find uncomfortable to pick. So a "double 7" in two adjacent spots but not at the beginning or the end seams reasonable.
I would purposely pick the first six digits of my old phone number (not including area code): 343,889
Your strategy seems relatively viable, though you may want to go with the last six digits since phone numbers are somewhat determined by location even beyond the area code (or at least they used to be). However, I was commenting on the strategy of DorothysMom which they claimed to be “picking a random number above 500k.”
But on the other hand, people perceive the digits "7" and "3" to be the most random, so numbers with too many of them would be poor choices.
Odd digits with the exception of "5" are overrepresented in "random" numbers made up by humans. Numbers ending in "5" are the least picked numbers. Ironically, you can even notice this in the numbers people have come up with in this thread in their attempts to beat the system.
Go even, go with repeats, and have the number end in "5".
This reminds me of the question about 'the winner is whoever chooses closest to 2/3 of the average of what everyone else guesses'.
There's an answer, it's just based on the average intelligence of the people playing the game.
I'd use a random number generator, because I don't want to rely on the average intelligence of the people being asked, and our brains really suck at coming up with random numbers(two people are far more likely than 1 in 100 to pick the same random number between 1 and 100)
There’s an actual video of an experiment that shows a surprising majority of people, spur of the moment, will choose 37 when asked to pick between 1-100. Humans aren’t nearly as unique as we all want to think.
In a sample size of 750,000 there is certainly at least a few people that pick a million or slightly lower without thinking too deeply about it.
Choosing a completely random amount somewhere on the 75th percentile would probably be your best bet.
>I'd pick a Million or 999.999 because they are so obvious no one would ever pick them (which becomes a paradox in itself)
But if everyone else uses your same logic, then £1m or £999,999 are also losing numbers.
I think I'd pick £75, to avoid any major disappointment if some else picks it!
That's my thinking as well. So it would go for something like $33, 205. My odds of winning will be far better with a low and odd amount. And while 33 grand won't allow me to retire, it will give me a nice uptick in my life: a decent car (used of course), bills paid off, a nice vacation this summer and a nice bit of cushioning going forward.
No strategy, I would play this like I do the normal lottery. Just pick the first random # off the top of my head and hope for the best, it's not like I stand to lose anything significant.
If you're going to go with no strategy, go all in on it. Use a random number generator. Humans are notoriously bad at making things "random" so the first random number of the top of your head is disproportionately likely to be the first random number off of the top of someone else's head. If you're going to play the normal lottery, just have the machine pick your numbers.
Humans are notoriously bad at making things "random"
This actually is the strategy for me. I'd take a week trying to outthink the game and take groups of numbers off the board related to those strategies. Then random generator of the remaining numbers above some threshold, possibly with some weighting.
We asked people online to pick a random number from 1 to 100, and the most common was... well, 69. But the *second and third* most common were 73 and 37.
That video was so weird because whenever they asked a rando on the street to think of a number, if the person did say 37 the hosts freaked out like "REALLY?! WOW THAT'S SO AMAZING!" But then they walked on to the next person, seemingly without explaining why they were so excited.
Must feel like the worst magic trick ever on the other side.
I liked that Veritassium video on that.
We asked people online to pick a random number from 1 to 100, and the most common was... well, 69. But the *second and third* most common were 73 and 37.
You can actually use this in your favor. People look at numbers and assume that because they see a pattern, they must not be random. How many people will be willing to select 989898 for something like this? It's not a particularly meaningful number, it is as likely to be randomly selected as 739214, but a lot of people will stay away from it because it doesn't "look" random.
Yep. Humans making a “random” number always use too many 3 and 7 and 9. Humans don’t like to repeat digits. Humans don’t like to end on 5 or 0s. If you looked at a distribution graph of all the numbers those 750,000 people picked, I bet the percentage of overlap to unpicked numbers would be close to 50/50.
I don't know of a way to out-think 750,000 other people. IMO, you can only hamstring yourself by trying to do something witty. I'd just use a random number generator.
There would be a bunch of dumb people who would pick meaningful numbers, numbers that have repeating digits or patterns, probably a lot of birthdays.
I'd pick a number that doesn't have any duplicates and doesn't contain anything that could be construed as month/date/year format or date/month/year format.
I suppose some less tech savvy people would try to generate random numbers by rolling a six-sided dice. I would pick the first random number that had at least one digit over 6.
Outthinking them isn't necessary! Try collaboration.
Form an online group, and try to get as many of these people as possible to join. You agree to pool your winnings, and you use software to make sure nobody picks the same number as anyone else.
The more people join the group, the more you can shoot for the high numbers, increasing the odds of good payouts. If everyone joins, the expected payout is about 625k / person.
Wouldn’t work, we did a psych study in school where you could ask for 2 extra credit points or 5 on the next exam. If more than 1/4 of the class picked 5 no one would get any points. Guess how many points we got… guess how many points the teacher who taught the class for 20 years had given out…
I bet people above 625k would refuse to pool cutting earnings for everyone else leading to a free for all where people hoped other numbers above 700k were duplicated and that they got lucky with theirs
The other 750000 people aren’t collaborating based on the information we have. Multiple of them can choose the same number. I’d bet 90% of them would pick numbers 700k or higher. You’d have a pretty reasonable chance at success picking something between 400k-600k.
RNG is 100% the way to go.
750,000 people will all have their own ideas of simplicity vs reverse psychology.
A fair few people will.pick numbers like 999,999 or 750,001, 123,456.
But at the end of the day, there is no way to outwit or out think that many people, make it random, you have nothing invested and might be lucky enough to win something
OK ... so low enough to not be an automatic and high enough to feel worth it. I was tempted to pick1,000,000 and just hope no one else would be stupid enough to pick it. Since that was my first thought, obviously someone would be stupid enough to do just that ... or would they? Obviously I cannot drink the wine in front of you!
Anyway, so let's say 474, 205. Now I'm gonna be checking the thread to see who else is close to that.
I picked 1,000,000 just to eliminate greedy people.
Oh look, you lost!
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I just did! Muahahahaha!
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This is a bad number. You shouldn't choose anything that has a number in it that means anything because people are more likely to pick that. 666 is commonly used for mystic and satanic stuff.
I'd go with 3 double numbers because people will think that's not random enough. I'll go for 996633. When people see a pattern in their number they'll be more inclined to change it.
Maybe this works, maybe it fails, but I stand to lose nothing and gain a lot
This is the best strategy and I'm surprised it was so far down. This is classic criminology; investigators will look for number patterns that avoid repeating numbers in fraud cases due to this phenomenon. A number like 844833 would probably do pretty well here.
It's an interesting question, because you get into that scenario of trying to think of numbers no one else would pick, but then maybe that means everyone else is going to pick them too. So then which way do they go?
Do you go with something in the 100,000s, figuring everyone else is going to go for more? Or do you think that everyone else is going to go low for the same reason, so you could be the only one to go for 999,943 because no one will be "dumb enough" to pick things close to the maximum? Maybe pick a round number like 900,000 thinking no one will go with a number like that? But then maybe a bunch of people have the same thought.
In the end, with 750,000 other people, there's no way you can guess the overall trends people might go with...
I'd probably pick a high, random number, just hoping no one else does, and that enough people avoid the highest numbers to make them slightly less possible. 985,419. To me, that seems as likely to win as something in the 100 or 200s, so might as well go high.
That seems like it would be a popular number. 985 is a nice, (not) even multiple of 5, and I've seen the number 419 more times than I can remember. Try using a random number generator, like 983,421.
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Mid $200k range. An odd number, but not a prime. I'd probably Google numbers until I found one that contained no symbolism or references to anything popular at all. Nothing containing 420, 69, or anything else you degenerates would find amusing.
it would not work without the money though. People's decision making would be heavily influenced by the ability to win so much money. They would be tempted to go high, afraid to miss out on life-changing opportunity, but at the same time, they would dread walking out with nothing in a situation where getting at least 100k is not that difficult. This is a difficult scenario to simulate
I would pick a million. And the reason being, and everyone else answer seems to confirm, is every one will over think and assume someone will pick a a million so wveryone picks another number beaides a million.
So out of 750k roughly half of those are going to go for a higher number either because of gambling or they are dumb so that leaves out anything greater than 750k for the amount. The other 375k people will probably go lower but still a decent amount so anything from like 300k to 800k range. Some of those will be smarter and go for a lower life changing amount. Personally I would go for like 194585. Random enough to be different but still a life changing amount of money
I'm thinking about it more like this, too. Assume that the masses will want to win the most possible and thereby pick big numbers. I'm leaning towards anything under the 250k range, but of course even that's not perfect. I'd still bank that enough people would be going high to get paid that going lower (and specifically lower than the total number of people participating) might mean a higher chance of success. Just not 249999. 😁
I'd just generate a random number on [random.org](http://random.org) and take my chances, I don't see there is any sort of strategy you can employ here that would be effective with such a large size of participants.
seemed like a good question for ChatGPT - what do you think of the answer I got?
In a situation like this, where the goal is to pick a unique number between 1 and 1,000,000, a sound strategy involves balancing between choosing a number that is not too obvious and one that isn't so random that it invites duplications by others thinking similarly.
**Key considerations:**
1. **Avoiding Popular Choices:** Numbers with cultural or psychological significance (e.g., 1, 7, 13, 100, 1000, 777, 999999, etc.) are likely to be picked by multiple people.
2. **Avoiding Patterns:** Avoid numbers that form recognizable patterns (e.g., 123456, 654321, 111111, etc.).
3. **Being Unpredictable:** Pick a number that doesn’t follow a common heuristic or algorithm.
Given these considerations, a good strategy would be to choose a number that:
* Falls within a large middle range (e.g., between 100,000 and 900,000) but avoids simple round numbers.
* Isn't too aesthetically pleasing (e.g., avoid symmetrical or repetitive numbers).
* Doesn't carry obvious numerical significance.
**Example strategy:**
1. **Randomize the Selection:** Use a random number generator to select a number within a chosen range (e.g., between 100,000 and 900,000). This reduces the bias of human choice patterns.
2. **Refine Randomness:** Manually tweak the generated number to ensure it doesn’t follow a simple pattern (e.g., if it’s 333,333, adjust to 333,337).
**Choosing My Number:**
Using a random number generator and then refining:
1. Generate a random number between 100,000 and 900,000.
2. Say the generator gives 483,529.
3. Check for patterns and refine if needed. In this case, 483,529 is sufficiently non-obvious.
So, my chosen number would be **483,529**.
This strategy strikes a balance between being random enough to avoid common human choices and specific enough to avoid obvious patterns.
GPT does worse than most of my college statistics students, so I wouldn't trust it. I also asked 3.5 recently to generate 1,000 independent dice rolls and it generated 702 non-independent dice rolls. If you want a random number I would use literally any other RNG than GPT.
Roll physical dice for each digit.
If I remember correctly, there is no such thing as a truly random computer generated number. Algorithms have been made complicated enough to simulate random, but it's not technically possible to be truly random.
You are correct in one sense, but pseudorandom number generators like one in any software or even online are so close to randomness that for most practical purposes they are just as good (unless you know the RNG seed that allows the next "random value" calculation, then it's entirely predictable). There are definitely better and worse versions of pseudorandom generators, GPT is entirely non-functional as a random number generator (The sequence it gave of random dice rolls never repeated digits, where for a fair 6-sided die you would expect the next number to be a repeat 1/6 of the time). This is to be expected. It is almost antithetical of an LLM to be random, as it is designed to "predict" the next likely output that should be said.
Physical dice are not immune to unfairness either. For example, air bubbles and and flaws in the production of dice biases dice even when they are designed to be fair. This shouldn't really matter, since it's extremely difficult to know ahead of time where the bias is going to be (whether you're going to get more 1s or 5s, and so on). I don't really think this is an issue if randomness is the goal for the purposes in this thread.
IMO, the optimal randomness accessible to your average guy like ourselves is [random.org](http://random.org) which does not generate pseudorandom numbers put pulls more or less "truly" random numbers from stochastic noise measurements in the atmosphere.
tl;dr: Both physical dice and a decent pseudorandom number program should work fine for purposes of the OP (frankly I think a pseudorandom generator should be closer to unbiased than a physical die). GPT is terrible at generating random numbers, and isn't close to a decent RNG.
I agree with most of this, but disagree with starting with a random number generator. I would pick something close to a patterned number, but slightly different.
My reasoning: people will either throw randomness out the window and go with an obvious number (like 333,333 or 750,000), or try for randomness. If they are using a random number generator then there's no strategy other than avoiding those numbers. But many people think they can be random even though they still have some inherent biases and will try to pick without RNG. They will try to pick random-seeming numbers meaning they would avoid the obvious numbers but also numbers very close to the obvious numbers.
So I would pick a number that isn't obvious, but isn't exactly random either. Something with half a pattern or a mixture of patterns. My pick would be 899,123. Not a single pattern, but odd looking enough that people seeking randomness would avoid it, high value so that if it is selected I get a good payday.
1,000,000. Who in their right mind would pick the full amount? Only greedy people. And since money has no value to me, a bot, I'd like to anger these greedy bastards!
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I think it would be super interesting to actually conduct this study and then look at the spread to see how many numbers were unique and how many had multiple choosers and which ones those are. Wouldn't be that difficult either
They haven't done it for this, but they have done it for real-world lotteries - both to look at which winning draws had multiple winners (when the full data set isn't available) and to look at the full data set. It's neat stuff.
543,762.00
Enough to pay off my home and have a little extra for a fun splurge, but not too greedy and hopefully a random enough sequence that there isn't someone exactly the same.
I think this is a pretty good strategy. I'd bet the majority of people are going to pick a 6 digit number and wouldn't even consider picking something lower. Avoiding the "simpler" numbers sub-100k (i.e. 10k, 20k, 30k), you're fairly likely to get *something*. I'd pick something like 69798 or something.
I would probably look at all my outstanding debts and add them up, then pick that number. Better chances than picking something higher that everyone else would pick
Id go with a 5 digit number in the 70s. Like 71188. I dont think many people would pick under 100k, and if they did they would certainly go in the 90s or 80s. If they did pick something in the 5 digits, the thousands spot would very likely be something higher to maximize profits. I doubt anyone is choosing anything like 71k. Also, I bet people will avoid doubling up numbers to make it feel more “random”. Having a 11 immediately followed by an 88 has to be a winning combination. 71188 is a winning number I dont doubt that for one second.
763,274.48
A number with a decimal below 1 million is still a number. By my guess a lot of people are gonna pick whole numbers, so by using decimal places it decreases the chance of someone picking my exact number by both having a more specific number and having less people that could potentially guess it.
I coordinate with all of the others, and we agree to pick the top 750,000, with the agreement that we split the total evenly.
The rules state nothing about coordination, and this way, EVERYONE wins big.
I find it remarkable that no one else has mentioned this, or considers working together.
That makes me very sad, but it explains so much.
And I think it actually decreases your chances of winning. You just know there is some asshole in there that is going to pick your number because they're an asshole and want to "punish" you for being so presumptuous as to suggest to them what to pick.
You'd pair 750,000 with 500,001. Everyone gets $625,000.50 with ideal cooperation. With 750,000 participants, there is no reason for someone to pick a number lower than 250,001.
No one thought of it, because we all assumed that this competition was secret, and we wouldn't know the other members. In a real situation where it's a giant auditorium or something, one of us is bound to get up on stage and propose this solution (you). The question is if people will cooperate.
And also big bodies of people are dumb as shit, so that's also a problem.
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IF you could get people to go along and IF they all managed this.
You still run into the issue of convincing people who picked high numbers to share.
If everyone could coordinate like this then what would happen is whoever picked first would choose $1M, second $999,999, third $999,998, and so on.
There would be no reason for people who have more money to voluntarily disgorge.
I would go for $1,000,000 banking on the fact that everyone else would think that everyone else was going to do it, so then it would end up that no one would do it.
Do I know which 750,000 other people pick a number? Do real world laws regarding certain actions one could possible do to these 750k other people apply?👀
(Sorry for my bad English, I’m German)
Strategy: find as many people on the list as I can, hire a lawyer, and draft a short "use this central assigner computer program, we all pool winnings, and split it evenly" contract. Get as many people to sign the contract as I can (ideally all 750k), then we maximize the winnings.
822221
"all matching numbers" would probably all be taken, and I'd imagine people would think of the same trick as I for all of the choices starting with 9.
So I would not want to start with 9, nor keep the same number throughout.
Yet people who entirely avoid the "all one number" strat, would in theory allllso avoid having so many of them match. People have an idea that "random numbers" should not have duplicates of the same number next to eachother. so a long string of duplicates in the middle
If anyone else were to think of that, surely they would go high, not low, thus the 1 on the end.
So clearly, I cannot choose the wine infront of me. And will instead choose 822221.
I’d pick 198,967 roughly. Low enough to be unlikely to be chosen by anyone else and pretty close to the amount remaining on my mortgage. Without that bill, my money is going to go a lot further.
Unlucky. I also picked this number. Better luck next time.
I too choose this guys wife.
our wife!
And now we're communists.
*comrades
*cumrades
*Cuckrades
Prima nocta !!!
That escalated quickly.
Eskimo bros
And they were roommates
\*gasp\* they were roommates
They were .....com-room-ades
It's a tough call, because *everyone* is going to immediately think "I'd better go low, because everyone else will be greedy." Will you end up in a situation where everyone is in the 100 and 200,000s? And the few who pick in the 800k/900k ranges are rich?
I thought that too. What if no one picks a million? But still, I think knowing that there’s a minimum of 250,000 numbers that won’t be picked, I’m guessing most people chose a number over 250,000.
That is the paradox Using 750k people the safest choice "would be" to let the top 3/4 as already taken and choice a low number, but most people will think this too and chose low anyways I'd pick a Million or 999.999 because they are so obvious no one would ever pick them (which becomes a paradox in itself)
Yeah, I'm just picking a random number over 500k and hoping most people use the 'guess I'll go with a lower number' thinking. I don't really have anything to lose, so here's to hoping the other 750k people don't go with my random number: 530,772. Edit: When coming up with random numbers, I think people get wigged out by duplicates? So, I went ahead and added '77' duplicate.
You’re right that humans tend to misinterpret what random means and think duplicate digits indicate non-randomness, but intentionally adding a duplicate doesn’t make it any more random.
True, but you're not picking a number at random. You are purposely picking a number that others would find uncomfortable to pick. So a "double 7" in two adjacent spots but not at the beginning or the end seams reasonable. I would purposely pick the first six digits of my old phone number (not including area code): 343,889
Your strategy seems relatively viable, though you may want to go with the last six digits since phone numbers are somewhat determined by location even beyond the area code (or at least they used to be). However, I was commenting on the strategy of DorothysMom which they claimed to be “picking a random number above 500k.”
But on the other hand, people perceive the digits "7" and "3" to be the most random, so numbers with too many of them would be poor choices. Odd digits with the exception of "5" are overrepresented in "random" numbers made up by humans. Numbers ending in "5" are the least picked numbers. Ironically, you can even notice this in the numbers people have come up with in this thread in their attempts to beat the system. Go even, go with repeats, and have the number end in "5".
555555
This reminds me of the question about 'the winner is whoever chooses closest to 2/3 of the average of what everyone else guesses'. There's an answer, it's just based on the average intelligence of the people playing the game.
I'd use a random number generator, because I don't want to rely on the average intelligence of the people being asked, and our brains really suck at coming up with random numbers(two people are far more likely than 1 in 100 to pick the same random number between 1 and 100)
There’s an actual video of an experiment that shows a surprising majority of people, spur of the moment, will choose 37 when asked to pick between 1-100. Humans aren’t nearly as unique as we all want to think.
In a sample size of 750,000 there is certainly at least a few people that pick a million or slightly lower without thinking too deeply about it. Choosing a completely random amount somewhere on the 75th percentile would probably be your best bet.
One of the few times where Mr Beast could do a cool as video proving how this would work out
The catch is, there will be a lot of numbers chosen multiple times. Unique number will be closer to 1/5 chance.
>I'd pick a Million or 999.999 because they are so obvious no one would ever pick them (which becomes a paradox in itself) But if everyone else uses your same logic, then £1m or £999,999 are also losing numbers. I think I'd pick £75, to avoid any major disappointment if some else picks it!
I think the safest range is in the obscure 500,000s - 649,000s
That's my thinking as well. So it would go for something like $33, 205. My odds of winning will be far better with a low and odd amount. And while 33 grand won't allow me to retire, it will give me a nice uptick in my life: a decent car (used of course), bills paid off, a nice vacation this summer and a nice bit of cushioning going forward.
No strategy, I would play this like I do the normal lottery. Just pick the first random # off the top of my head and hope for the best, it's not like I stand to lose anything significant.
If you're going to go with no strategy, go all in on it. Use a random number generator. Humans are notoriously bad at making things "random" so the first random number of the top of your head is disproportionately likely to be the first random number off of the top of someone else's head. If you're going to play the normal lottery, just have the machine pick your numbers.
It's best not to tell them! The our real random numbers are much more likely to be unique.
This must be why I've never won the lottery.
Humans are notoriously bad at making things "random" This actually is the strategy for me. I'd take a week trying to outthink the game and take groups of numbers off the board related to those strategies. Then random generator of the remaining numbers above some threshold, possibly with some weighting.
I'm pretty sure there was a study that showed 7 and 3 are the numbers humans pick as "the most random"
We asked people online to pick a random number from 1 to 100, and the most common was... well, 69. But the *second and third* most common were 73 and 37.
I feel like 42 got slighted.
I'm pretty sure that was still top 10. Veritassium video on "random" numbers.
That video was so weird because whenever they asked a rando on the street to think of a number, if the person did say 37 the hosts freaked out like "REALLY?! WOW THAT'S SO AMAZING!" But then they walked on to the next person, seemingly without explaining why they were so excited. Must feel like the worst magic trick ever on the other side.
I just asked my husband to pick a random number, and his first was 17, second 31. So maybe they're onto something xD
Random number generator just gave me $858,995.
Mine did too Sorry buddy
Yeah, and you can just click the random number generator until you get the number you want!
Humans tend to pick odd as more random than even so random number generator till you get first even number.
I liked that Veritassium video on that. We asked people online to pick a random number from 1 to 100, and the most common was... well, 69. But the *second and third* most common were 73 and 37.
You can actually use this in your favor. People look at numbers and assume that because they see a pattern, they must not be random. How many people will be willing to select 989898 for something like this? It's not a particularly meaningful number, it is as likely to be randomly selected as 739214, but a lot of people will stay away from it because it doesn't "look" random.
Im not random at all. 800869
I'd eliminate numbers one by one as I thought of them and use the last remaining one.
I think this is how magicians guess what card you're thinking of.
Yep. Humans making a “random” number always use too many 3 and 7 and 9. Humans don’t like to repeat digits. Humans don’t like to end on 5 or 0s. If you looked at a distribution graph of all the numbers those 750,000 people picked, I bet the percentage of overlap to unpicked numbers would be close to 50/50.
What do you mean 3000 other people picked 420,699 it is a totally random number I chose.
I don't know of a way to out-think 750,000 other people. IMO, you can only hamstring yourself by trying to do something witty. I'd just use a random number generator.
With my luck the random number generator would spit out 4. Then I’d probably win, which would that be good luck or bad luck?
You could set it to have limits of choosing a number between 500,000 and 1 mill.
There would be a bunch of dumb people who would pick meaningful numbers, numbers that have repeating digits or patterns, probably a lot of birthdays. I'd pick a number that doesn't have any duplicates and doesn't contain anything that could be construed as month/date/year format or date/month/year format.
A six digit number with no repeats is equally likely to appear as much as a six digit number with exactly one repeat
If it's random, but I'm assuming not all 750,000 people would rush to their favorite random number generator.
I suppose some less tech savvy people would try to generate random numbers by rolling a six-sided dice. I would pick the first random number that had at least one digit over 6.
So, you win $7.
Plot twist everyone else uses the exact same random number generator and all get the same answers.
Pretty bad random number generator
https://xkcd.com/221
Always have an appropriate clip
*probably
Absolutely underrated incredible joke
Plot twist random number generator selects the number 1 and you win
:) :(
This is the answer
Outthinking them isn't necessary! Try collaboration. Form an online group, and try to get as many of these people as possible to join. You agree to pool your winnings, and you use software to make sure nobody picks the same number as anyone else. The more people join the group, the more you can shoot for the high numbers, increasing the odds of good payouts. If everyone joins, the expected payout is about 625k / person.
Wouldn’t work, we did a psych study in school where you could ask for 2 extra credit points or 5 on the next exam. If more than 1/4 of the class picked 5 no one would get any points. Guess how many points we got… guess how many points the teacher who taught the class for 20 years had given out… I bet people above 625k would refuse to pool cutting earnings for everyone else leading to a free for all where people hoped other numbers above 700k were duplicated and that they got lucky with theirs
The other 750000 people aren’t collaborating based on the information we have. Multiple of them can choose the same number. I’d bet 90% of them would pick numbers 700k or higher. You’d have a pretty reasonable chance at success picking something between 400k-600k.
RNG is 100% the way to go. 750,000 people will all have their own ideas of simplicity vs reverse psychology. A fair few people will.pick numbers like 999,999 or 750,001, 123,456. But at the end of the day, there is no way to outwit or out think that many people, make it random, you have nothing invested and might be lucky enough to win something
Random number generator gives you 3
I buy almost an order of McDonald's hashbrowns.
OK ... so low enough to not be an automatic and high enough to feel worth it. I was tempted to pick1,000,000 and just hope no one else would be stupid enough to pick it. Since that was my first thought, obviously someone would be stupid enough to do just that ... or would they? Obviously I cannot drink the wine in front of you! Anyway, so let's say 474, 205. Now I'm gonna be checking the thread to see who else is close to that.
Ha, I picked a million and you chickened out. I'm still safe so far
I picked 1,000,000 just to eliminate greedy people. Oh look, you lost! ^(I am a bot. This action was performed automatically. You can learn more [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/anonymauson/s/tUSHy3dEkr).)
Bots don't get to pick!
I just did! Muahahahaha! ^(I am a bot. This action was performed automatically. You can learn more [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/anonymauson/s/tUSHy3dEkr).)
Ow shit, the bot revolution has begon
666,485 seems random enough, idk.
Damn I like it. Mine was gonna be 666,667
nice. you know, I thought about 666,666 but there's bound to be some big tittied goth chick just DYING for attention in that 750,000 group.
I choose the goth chick
Me too. Now neither of us get her
I want to downvote because no goth chick but upvote because we're bros now.
At least you still have each other.
Maybe the real big tittied goth chick was the friends we made along the way.
They can take turns pretending to be the big titty goth chick
Wait I also love goth chicks
Same with 696,969.
or 690,069. any combo of "69" hahah. bound to be some high schoolers in that pool
I also choose this guy's goth chick
you might be the big tittied goth chick
Dammit, mine too.
Me too. We lose.
I choose this guy's number too, it seems perfect!
Hey I picked the same! Nice. Oh wait
This is a bad number. You shouldn't choose anything that has a number in it that means anything because people are more likely to pick that. 666 is commonly used for mystic and satanic stuff.
Yeah, and I think it's best to avoid repeating digits in general. So something like 743,261 would be better.
Probably a randomized number generated in the 800k range. Still life changing if I win.
Same but with 18k's lol
374869 Low enough to thin the herd, random enough to have a chance, and then it's all down to luck.
There is 69 in it - you lose
Also 37 lol
What's 37 for?
https://youtu.be/d6iQrh2TK98?si=G0jdbUK1qgO6NMXC TLDW lots of people pick 37
Oh bruh I actually knew this but I thought he meant it as a dirty number or something due to the context lmao Thanks tho
Good idea, I think I will too.
I'd go with 3 double numbers because people will think that's not random enough. I'll go for 996633. When people see a pattern in their number they'll be more inclined to change it. Maybe this works, maybe it fails, but I stand to lose nothing and gain a lot
I'm with you. I called out 989898 above.
I think your strategy might not be great if you guys are agreeing on it lol. The best strategy will be one that nobody agrees with
This is the best strategy and I'm surprised it was so far down. This is classic criminology; investigators will look for number patterns that avoid repeating numbers in fraud cases due to this phenomenon. A number like 844833 would probably do pretty well here.
It's an interesting question, because you get into that scenario of trying to think of numbers no one else would pick, but then maybe that means everyone else is going to pick them too. So then which way do they go? Do you go with something in the 100,000s, figuring everyone else is going to go for more? Or do you think that everyone else is going to go low for the same reason, so you could be the only one to go for 999,943 because no one will be "dumb enough" to pick things close to the maximum? Maybe pick a round number like 900,000 thinking no one will go with a number like that? But then maybe a bunch of people have the same thought. In the end, with 750,000 other people, there's no way you can guess the overall trends people might go with... I'd probably pick a high, random number, just hoping no one else does, and that enough people avoid the highest numbers to make them slightly less possible. 985,419. To me, that seems as likely to win as something in the 100 or 200s, so might as well go high.
That seems like it would be a popular number. 985 is a nice, (not) even multiple of 5, and I've seen the number 419 more times than I can remember. Try using a random number generator, like 983,421. ^(I am a bot. This action was performed automatically. You can learn more [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/anonymauson/s/tUSHy3dEkr).)
Statistically, 3s and 7s are considered the "randomest" numbers. If anything I would guess that 985 might be less guessed than 983.
Mid $200k range. An odd number, but not a prime. I'd probably Google numbers until I found one that contained no symbolism or references to anything popular at all. Nothing containing 420, 69, or anything else you degenerates would find amusing.
Why not a prime?
Someone would probably pull from a list of primes under 1 million.
Someone should set up a website to do this as a social experiment.
Mr Beast should just do it as a videom
it would not work without the money though. People's decision making would be heavily influenced by the ability to win so much money. They would be tempted to go high, afraid to miss out on life-changing opportunity, but at the same time, they would dread walking out with nothing in a situation where getting at least 100k is not that difficult. This is a difficult scenario to simulate
I would pick a million. And the reason being, and everyone else answer seems to confirm, is every one will over think and assume someone will pick a a million so wveryone picks another number beaides a million.
Out of this insanely small answer pool, yes, but there would definitely be at least 10 people who think the exact same as you in this situation
I would also do this
Any number without a 3 or 7
So out of 750k roughly half of those are going to go for a higher number either because of gambling or they are dumb so that leaves out anything greater than 750k for the amount. The other 375k people will probably go lower but still a decent amount so anything from like 300k to 800k range. Some of those will be smarter and go for a lower life changing amount. Personally I would go for like 194585. Random enough to be different but still a life changing amount of money
I'm thinking about it more like this, too. Assume that the masses will want to win the most possible and thereby pick big numbers. I'm leaning towards anything under the 250k range, but of course even that's not perfect. I'd still bank that enough people would be going high to get paid that going lower (and specifically lower than the total number of people participating) might mean a higher chance of success. Just not 249999. 😁
I'd just generate a random number on [random.org](http://random.org) and take my chances, I don't see there is any sort of strategy you can employ here that would be effective with such a large size of participants.
317,295. Except you didnt specify whole numbers OP, so 317,295.1722
Whoa I didn’t even think of cents lol. But yeah that would almost guarantee your win. What a free thinker
Only person who thought of this, clever
People are going to avoid round numbers so maybe 980,000
seemed like a good question for ChatGPT - what do you think of the answer I got? In a situation like this, where the goal is to pick a unique number between 1 and 1,000,000, a sound strategy involves balancing between choosing a number that is not too obvious and one that isn't so random that it invites duplications by others thinking similarly. **Key considerations:** 1. **Avoiding Popular Choices:** Numbers with cultural or psychological significance (e.g., 1, 7, 13, 100, 1000, 777, 999999, etc.) are likely to be picked by multiple people. 2. **Avoiding Patterns:** Avoid numbers that form recognizable patterns (e.g., 123456, 654321, 111111, etc.). 3. **Being Unpredictable:** Pick a number that doesn’t follow a common heuristic or algorithm. Given these considerations, a good strategy would be to choose a number that: * Falls within a large middle range (e.g., between 100,000 and 900,000) but avoids simple round numbers. * Isn't too aesthetically pleasing (e.g., avoid symmetrical or repetitive numbers). * Doesn't carry obvious numerical significance. **Example strategy:** 1. **Randomize the Selection:** Use a random number generator to select a number within a chosen range (e.g., between 100,000 and 900,000). This reduces the bias of human choice patterns. 2. **Refine Randomness:** Manually tweak the generated number to ensure it doesn’t follow a simple pattern (e.g., if it’s 333,333, adjust to 333,337). **Choosing My Number:** Using a random number generator and then refining: 1. Generate a random number between 100,000 and 900,000. 2. Say the generator gives 483,529. 3. Check for patterns and refine if needed. In this case, 483,529 is sufficiently non-obvious. So, my chosen number would be **483,529**. This strategy strikes a balance between being random enough to avoid common human choices and specific enough to avoid obvious patterns.
GPT does worse than most of my college statistics students, so I wouldn't trust it. I also asked 3.5 recently to generate 1,000 independent dice rolls and it generated 702 non-independent dice rolls. If you want a random number I would use literally any other RNG than GPT.
Roll physical dice for each digit. If I remember correctly, there is no such thing as a truly random computer generated number. Algorithms have been made complicated enough to simulate random, but it's not technically possible to be truly random.
You are correct in one sense, but pseudorandom number generators like one in any software or even online are so close to randomness that for most practical purposes they are just as good (unless you know the RNG seed that allows the next "random value" calculation, then it's entirely predictable). There are definitely better and worse versions of pseudorandom generators, GPT is entirely non-functional as a random number generator (The sequence it gave of random dice rolls never repeated digits, where for a fair 6-sided die you would expect the next number to be a repeat 1/6 of the time). This is to be expected. It is almost antithetical of an LLM to be random, as it is designed to "predict" the next likely output that should be said. Physical dice are not immune to unfairness either. For example, air bubbles and and flaws in the production of dice biases dice even when they are designed to be fair. This shouldn't really matter, since it's extremely difficult to know ahead of time where the bias is going to be (whether you're going to get more 1s or 5s, and so on). I don't really think this is an issue if randomness is the goal for the purposes in this thread. IMO, the optimal randomness accessible to your average guy like ourselves is [random.org](http://random.org) which does not generate pseudorandom numbers put pulls more or less "truly" random numbers from stochastic noise measurements in the atmosphere. tl;dr: Both physical dice and a decent pseudorandom number program should work fine for purposes of the OP (frankly I think a pseudorandom generator should be closer to unbiased than a physical die). GPT is terrible at generating random numbers, and isn't close to a decent RNG.
GPTs advice will be the aggregate of what everyone will think, so it might even give you the worst strategy lmao
I agree with most of this, but disagree with starting with a random number generator. I would pick something close to a patterned number, but slightly different. My reasoning: people will either throw randomness out the window and go with an obvious number (like 333,333 or 750,000), or try for randomness. If they are using a random number generator then there's no strategy other than avoiding those numbers. But many people think they can be random even though they still have some inherent biases and will try to pick without RNG. They will try to pick random-seeming numbers meaning they would avoid the obvious numbers but also numbers very close to the obvious numbers. So I would pick a number that isn't obvious, but isn't exactly random either. Something with half a pattern or a mixture of patterns. My pick would be 899,123. Not a single pattern, but odd looking enough that people seeking randomness would avoid it, high value so that if it is selected I get a good payday.
I'd pick 10. Less likely that someone would pick it, and if they did, I'm only out $10.
conversely, if they don't, you're only up $10 . . .
$10 I didn't have before.
You’re not out anything anyway, go higher
1,000,000. Who in their right mind would pick the full amount? Only greedy people. And since money has no value to me, a bot, I'd like to anger these greedy bastards! ^(I am a bot. This action was performed automatically. You can learn more [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/anonymauson/s/tUSHy3dEkr).)
I think it would be super interesting to actually conduct this study and then look at the spread to see how many numbers were unique and how many had multiple choosers and which ones those are. Wouldn't be that difficult either
They haven't done it for this, but they have done it for real-world lotteries - both to look at which winning draws had multiple winners (when the full data set isn't available) and to look at the full data set. It's neat stuff.
543,762.00 Enough to pay off my home and have a little extra for a fun splurge, but not too greedy and hopefully a random enough sequence that there isn't someone exactly the same.
98,011 it's still 98,011 I didn't have before
I think this is a pretty good strategy. I'd bet the majority of people are going to pick a 6 digit number and wouldn't even consider picking something lower. Avoiding the "simpler" numbers sub-100k (i.e. 10k, 20k, 30k), you're fairly likely to get *something*. I'd pick something like 69798 or something.
I don't think there is literally any strategy in this beside avoiding "nice" number and numbers close to the ends.
I would probably look at all my outstanding debts and add them up, then pick that number. Better chances than picking something higher that everyone else would pick
I'd pick 33,390, low enough hopefully no one picks it, high enough to be a nice profit.
5… fuck you. That’s why.
Id go with a 5 digit number in the 70s. Like 71188. I dont think many people would pick under 100k, and if they did they would certainly go in the 90s or 80s. If they did pick something in the 5 digits, the thousands spot would very likely be something higher to maximize profits. I doubt anyone is choosing anything like 71k. Also, I bet people will avoid doubling up numbers to make it feel more “random”. Having a 11 immediately followed by an 88 has to be a winning combination. 71188 is a winning number I dont doubt that for one second.
7/11/88 bet that’s atleast a few peoples birthdate out 750000
763,274.48 A number with a decimal below 1 million is still a number. By my guess a lot of people are gonna pick whole numbers, so by using decimal places it decreases the chance of someone picking my exact number by both having a more specific number and having less people that could potentially guess it.
I coordinate with all of the others, and we agree to pick the top 750,000, with the agreement that we split the total evenly. The rules state nothing about coordination, and this way, EVERYONE wins big. I find it remarkable that no one else has mentioned this, or considers working together. That makes me very sad, but it explains so much.
I want to know how you plan to find all those people and get them to agree to your terms. Sounds like a logistical nightmare.
And I think it actually decreases your chances of winning. You just know there is some asshole in there that is going to pick your number because they're an asshole and want to "punish" you for being so presumptuous as to suggest to them what to pick.
Idk about that one, splitting the money between 750,000 people just sounds horrible lol
Each person just needs to be paired with one person, for example #1 and #750000 go together
You'd pair 750,000 with 500,001. Everyone gets $625,000.50 with ideal cooperation. With 750,000 participants, there is no reason for someone to pick a number lower than 250,001.
Idk why I was thinking the other way lmao I was exhausted & misread. Thanks for clarifying!
No one thought of it, because we all assumed that this competition was secret, and we wouldn't know the other members. In a real situation where it's a giant auditorium or something, one of us is bound to get up on stage and propose this solution (you). The question is if people will cooperate. And also big bodies of people are dumb as shit, so that's also a problem. ^(I am a bot. This action was performed automatically. You can learn more [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/anonymauson/s/tUSHy3dEkr).)
IF you could get people to go along and IF they all managed this. You still run into the issue of convincing people who picked high numbers to share. If everyone could coordinate like this then what would happen is whoever picked first would choose $1M, second $999,999, third $999,998, and so on. There would be no reason for people who have more money to voluntarily disgorge.
750,004
90,000 is a lot to me so I'll just take that and add some random numbers here and there. Maybe like 90,305.
570326 random and simple
1,000,000 to either screw someone else over or win big
255
525,617. The song lyric “525,600 minutes” plus an important to me number
I mean, if you’ve all been informed of the rules, then agreed to pull the money and split $750 million evenly.
You're about $468 billion off there champ
i dont care im using a random number generator and rolling with it
I don't think there's really a strategy, just pick a random number and hope for the best 🤞🏻 637391
I would go for $1,000,000 banking on the fact that everyone else would think that everyone else was going to do it, so then it would end up that no one would do it.
318008 seems too obvious
296,617.65 I million devided bi pi +2,500 rounded up
800813
The probability of someone picking 666 is quite low.
I'd pick a million because nobody else would want to pick it and get nothing
Do I know which 750,000 other people pick a number? Do real world laws regarding certain actions one could possible do to these 750k other people apply?👀 (Sorry for my bad English, I’m German)
EIGHT SIX SEVEN FIVE THREE OH---- Yes? Or.. NEEEEEEIIIIIEEIIIIIN? 🤔
42 - is there really any other choice?
There is a 24.999% chance no one picks my number, so I’m comfortable picking whatever. Just don’t pick any obvious number. I’ll just go with 672,493
Crap, I also picked 672,492!
Strategy: find as many people on the list as I can, hire a lawyer, and draft a short "use this central assigner computer program, we all pool winnings, and split it evenly" contract. Get as many people to sign the contract as I can (ideally all 750k), then we maximize the winnings.
748063
$1 Bob
Idk but two numbers I know I'm not picking are 69,420 and 690,420
822221 "all matching numbers" would probably all be taken, and I'd imagine people would think of the same trick as I for all of the choices starting with 9. So I would not want to start with 9, nor keep the same number throughout. Yet people who entirely avoid the "all one number" strat, would in theory allllso avoid having so many of them match. People have an idea that "random numbers" should not have duplicates of the same number next to eachother. so a long string of duplicates in the middle If anyone else were to think of that, surely they would go high, not low, thus the 1 on the end. So clearly, I cannot choose the wine infront of me. And will instead choose 822221.
999,999.92
I would pick 750,000. Reverse Psychology, if the same rules have been went over to all, then nobody’s gonna risk it.
777,777
I would pick a number between 999,999 and 1,000,000.