Given: A list of numbers. Assume integers (though it isn't necessary
for the underlying issue).
Task: To determine how often the first digit is 1, the first digit is
2, ..., the first digit is 9, and present as a table. You may exploit
DrRacket's pretty-printer, e.g., by using a list of lists:
'((#\1 22.51539138082674)
(#\2 16.44678979771328)
(#\3 15.567282321899736)
(#\4 12.401055408970976)
(#\5 9.058927000879507)
(#\6 7.651715039577836)
(#\7 6.420404573438875)
(#\8 5.804749340369393)
(#\9 4.133685136323659))
I leave the precise format of the output unstated so you're free to
choose a clever representation; your answer should be at least as
visually clear as the above.
You should not mutate the original list, since it may be necessary for
other computations.
Smallest/tightest/cleanest/best?
Shriram
PS: Of course, this is to explore Benford's Law:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benford's_law
which is the subject of my lecture tomorrow. The above
distribution is from the size of the littoral zone (in acres) of
the lakes of Minnesota.
PPS: If you really want to you can assume the data are actually in a
CSV file (as mine are -- thanks, Neil!), in case you can come up
with something even cleverer.
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