Benfords Law And Where It Came From - 1371 Words

Benford’s Law and where it came from? According to Oxford dictionary, Benford’s law is the principle that in any large, randomly produced set of natural numbers, such as tables of logarithms or corporate sales statistics, around 30 percent will begin with the digit 1, 18 percent with 2, and so on, with the smallest percentage beginning with 9. The law is applied in analyzing the validity of statistics and financial records. Benford’s law is a mathematical theory of leading digits that was discovered by American astronomer Simon Newcomb. In 1881 he have noticed, that the pages of logarithms book beginning with number 1 were more worn than pages dealing with higher digits. In comparison to pages starting with 1, they looked more clean and new. He calculated that the probability that a number has any particular non-zero first digit is: P(d)=Log10(1+1/d) Where: d is a number 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 or 9 And P is the probability. Using that formula he concluded that all digits don’t appear with equal frequency but number 1 appear as the first digit about 30 % of the time, as supposed to digit 9 that appear less than 5 % of the time. However, he didn’t provide any theoretical explanation for his phenomena he described and it was son forgotten. In 1938, Frank Benford, a physicist, also noticed nonuniform way of digit distribution. He attempted to test his hypothesis by collecting and analyzing his data. After having over 20,000 observations, he noticed that numbers fell into aShow MoreRelatedThe iranian Regime and Dehumanization1282 Words   |  5 Pagesreformist will not be approved. The 2009 election was between Mir Houssein Mousavi and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Mousavi was a reformist candidate. He supported changing the constitution, allowing privately owned television stations as well as changing law enforcement to the responsibility of the president as they are the representation of the people.( Iran Chamber Society Mir Houssein Mousavi: 2009) Ahmadinejad was the conservative candidate being endorsed by the Ayatollah. Ahmadinejad’s platform wasRead MoreReview of The Drunkards Walk - How Randomness Rules Our Lives by Mlodinow 3440 Words   |  14 Pagesflawed decision making. Lansing had good luck at the beginning and bad luck at the end. Chapter 2 The Laws of Truths and Half-Truths 1. What coined the term probability, or probabilis? (Latin: probabilis credible) Cicero’s principal legacy in the field of randomness is the term he used, probabilis, which is the origin of the term we employ today. But it is one part of the Roman code of law, the Digest, compiled by Emperor Justinian in the sixth century, that is the first document in which probabilityRead MoreThe And Internal Audit Of Public Sector Essay6738 Words   |  27 Pages1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background Over the last several decades, Information Technology has developed from simple data input systems to complex Information Management systems that support managerial decision with relevant, reliable and timely information. This evolution has been characterized as a shift from automated system performing only accounting functions (payroll, accounts payable, general ledger etc.) to Information system that perform enterprise wide tasks that include accounting and auditingRead MoreMba Solved Assignment Papers52670 Words   |  211 Pagesin the form of discussion and results. Research and development is nowadays of great importance in business as the level of competition, production processes and methods are rapidly increasing. It is of special importance in the field of marketing where companies keep an eagle eye on competitors and customers in order to keep pace with modern trends and analyze the needs, demands and desires of their customers. Unfortunately, research and development are very difficult to manage, since the defining