Number Cards Exercise

This exercise is a challenge to work out what the numbers represent. You will follow three main steps: observe, analyse, and interpret.

How to interact with the number cards:

• You can click and drag each number card to move it around your screen — rearrange them in whatever way helps your thinking.
• Click on a number to highlight it in red — this is useful for marking patterns, outliers, or groups.
• Use the on-screen buttons to:
  • Re-order the cards — sort them quickly, for example by value.
  • Re-scatter the cards — randomly shuffle their positions for a fresh view.

Steps in the exercise:

1. Make some observations
   Begin by looking at the numbers and recording facts. At this stage, focus only on what you can directly observe. Avoid jumping to conclusions or making assumptions. Instead, note down:
   • The format of the numbers (e.g. integers, decimals, large/small values)
   • Any patterns you can see (e.g. repetition, order, range)
   • Outliers or anything that stands out
2. Do some analysis
   Now, move on to analysing the numbers. Use calculations or visualisations to uncover further insights:
   • Calculate totals, averages, differences, or other summary statistics
   • Visualise the data – a simple chart or sketch may help reveal trends or distributions
   • Group or sort the numbers – is there a natural categorisation?
3. Interpret your analysis
   Finally, come up with a few hypotheses about what the numbers could represent. For each hypothesis, ask yourself:
   • Do my observations and analysis support this idea?
   • Is there evidence that disproves it?
   • What else would I need to know to be more confident?
   Try to link your ideas back to the data and consider multiple possibilities.

This exercise is about being curious, methodical, and open-minded in how you approach unfamiliar data.