Why  WHY THINGS ARE MEASURED BY NUMBERS NEAR ONE by Michael E. Marotta We naturally choose scales that are naturally in tune with Nature. To do otherwise would be unharmonious and would be rejected by practice over time. Here are the numbers from an article about the Great Lakes in the World Book Encyclopedia. 5 lakes 1 in US 4 border 1909 year of treaty 94,650 combined area 600 alt of Superior 245 alt of Ontario 325 drop from Erie to Ont 1900 Chicago canal opened 1,000 miles inland 20 drop in St. Mary's 3 canal groups 1959 St. Law Seaway 182 miles of Seaway 2 times more than Panama Depths Areas 1333 31,800 Superior 923 22,400 Michigan 750 23,000 Huron 210 9,930 Erie 778 7,520 Ontario The numbers 4,5, and 6 are uncommon. You can round 7,8,9 to the next order of magnitude and make them all 1. This doesn't need explanation. Finding that measures clustered near 5 would...