The Strange Math Of Small Numbers

There are not enough small numbers to satisfy every pattern found in nature. Because humans explore low integers first, coincidences appear more often than they actually exist in the broader universe.

Mathematician Richard Guy coined this law to explain why we find so many seemingly universal patterns in small sets of numbers. He argued that we simply run out of small integers before we run out of interesting properties to attribute to them. Consequently, many patterns that look like profound laws of nature are actually just statistical accidents. This serves as a warning to researchers that even in math, appearances can be deceiving.