Benford or not Benford: a systematic but not always well-founded use of an elegant law in experimental fields

04/17/2018

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by   Stéphane Blondeau da Silva, et al.

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In this paper, we will see that the proportion of d as leading digit, d ∈ 1, 9, in data (obtained thanks to the hereunder developed model) is more likely to follow a law whose probability distribution is determined by a specific upper bound, rather than Benford's Law. These probability distributions fluctuate around Benford's value as can often be observed in the literature in many naturally occurring collections of data (where the physical , biological or economical quantities considered are upper bounded). Knowing beforehand the value of the upper bound can be a way to find a better adjusted law than Benford's one.