How many people have you ever met?

[jack]

Approximately 0.6%¹ of people are called "Matt", and 0.6% of people are called "Johnson". So approximately 1 in 20,000 people are called "Matt Johnson". Count the number of people you've ever met called "Matt Johnson", multiply by 20k, and you've probably met that many people. I think I've met three.

[1] Statistics probably not accurate for my demographic or decade. I didn't pursue this seriously. Because obviously using just one name is a joke. The idea of counting the number of people you know any of the five most common surnames, and then multiplying by 20 or 30 to get the number of people you know to a given level of closeness, is more well standing.

Comments

[jules]

I've never met anyone named Matt Johnson. Does this mean I don't exist?

[jack]

I think that you can exist, it's just everyone else that's imaginary :)

[liv]

Hey, you know that thing where you don't meet an unbiased sample of all the people in the world? Well, that thing...

[pseudomonas]

I don't think that's the major objection, actually. I think recall is more of an issue.