Testing Benford's Law with Data from the Mathematical World

Abstract

Benford's Law, also known as the First Digit Law, is a principle regarding a pattern occurring in large data sets. It states that if you were to look at a large set of numbers from the physical world (lengths of rivers, heights of trees, stock prices, etc.), and observe the first digit of each term in the set, a pattern emerges. The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence of Benford's Law in data sets, not from the physical world but rather, from the mathematical world.