How Rare Are You? is a playful demographic model designed to give an intuitive sense of human scale and individuality.
1. The Population Baseline
The game begins with a clean baseline of 8,000,000,000 humans (United Nations World Population Prospects 2024 estimates the mid-2024 global population at ~8.05 billion).
2. The Mathematical Model
When you select a trait with global frequency \(P_i\), the remaining population is multiplied by \(P_i\):
Estimated Population = 8,000,000,000 × ∏ (Pi)
3. Assumptions & Confidence Ranges
In probability, traits that do not physically influence one another (like handedness and birth month) can be treated as approximately independent.
However, in real human biology, certain traits exhibit linkage disequilibrium or geographic clustering. For instance, melanin regulation genes (like OCA2, HERC2, and MC1R) correlate light hair with blue/green eyes, and regional demographics correlate genetic traits with geography.
Because global joint covariance matrices do not exist for every permutation, this number is a statistical estimate, not a literal registry of unique individuals. An estimated uncertainty margin of ±35% should be applied to extreme tails.
4. 100% Client-Side Privacy
All calculations happen directly inside your web browser. No accounts, no email, no analytics tracking, and zero answers leave your device.
5. Verified Peer-Reviewed Sources
Every single trait in this experience is backed by peer-reviewed genetic research or official global agencies: