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Not "30.1% of numbers" start with 1, but 30.1% of numbers from distributions that cover several orders of magnitude might.

http://www.billthelizard.com/2009/04/benfords-law.html

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"Explaining Benford's Law" may have been a more accurate title, but "Why 30.1% of numbers start with 1" brought this neat article to a larger audience. Taken too far, though, that kind of thing can ruin social news sites. Headlines have always been a gray area.

Unfortunately, "Explaining Benford's Law", which is the actual title of the article, is a complete misnomer, as the article doesn't actually explain the first thing about Benford's law. It just restates Benford's law and gives examples. There is no explanation or derivation at all.

Click the "Next Section" link at the bottom to get way more explanation/derivation than you could ever want.

Ah thanks, I mistakingly thought that linked to a next chapter(which actually isn't there; this is the final chapter in the book).

That's what I thought too, learning about that law. For certain, 30% of prices start with 9... ;-)

Do you mean 30.1% of prices end with 9?

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