Pick a Number

I've become somewhat obsessed with the #MTBoS community on Twitter, so I figured I'd dive in.

My primary goals are typical:  to connect with other educators who are doing what I'm doing, and figure out how to do it better.

My specific goal is to share what I'm doing with 3D printing and get some feedback.

My secret goal is to be that guy with the number game.  Maybe I'm walking around NCTM in DC next spring, and somebody sees my name and says, "Hey, you're the guy with the number game."  Like that.

The game is simple:  Each player chooses a positive integer.  The winner is the player who chooses the smallest positive integer that nobody else chose.

I've done this at my school weekly for the past two years. You can see the graphs from 2015-16  and 2016-17.

I believe that I read about this game in a book called Moral Calculations by Laszlo Mero.  He described Scientific American having run the game several years ago.  For you game theorists, here's a paper that solves the game.

What I like about it is that everyone can play, and there are no bad answers.

I'll leave any discussion of the game for another time.  But for now, choose a number.  The prize is simply internet glory.  What else can you ask for?

I'll collect the raw data and make that available as well.

Feel free to offer any advice. Thanks!