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Hypothesis:

People think even numbers aren't as "random" and odd numbers are more "random". That leaves us with 1,3,5,7,9. 1 and 5 both divide 10 and don't seem so "random" to us, I guess. That leaves us with 3, 7, and 9. 33, 77, 99, i.e. numbers with repeated digits don't seem so "random". That leaves us with 37, 39, 79. And 9 maybe (not sure if all people subconsciously think this way) isn't that "random" because it's one less than 10 and divisible by 3.

Infact, the jargon file says that 37 is the most common random number people will choose[0].

[0] http://catb.org/jargon/html/R/random-numbers.html




I chose 37 purely because it was the first number that came to mind, but then I have also knew that jargon file entry...

Second was 51. Clearly the primest looking of the non-primes under 100?


I absolutely agree with your reasoning, but personally I chose even numbers both times ;-) They "feel nicer".




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