Visualizing Lotto Data: Germany’s numbers as heat map.

Hello, DEV community! 👋

This is my very first article on DEV, and I'm excited to share a project that combines my love of data visualization with a dash of playful speculation. Have you ever wondered if some lottery numbers are “luckier” than others? Or if patterns in what should be purely random events might hint at something deeper about the nature of reality?

Ever wondered if certain lottery numbers are more likely to hit the jackpot than others? Or if patterns in random events could hint at something deeper about the nature of reality? I recently developed a lotto activity app to visualize historical lottery data in Germany, and it’s shown some fascinating patterns. In this article, I’ll take you through how it works and explore a fun, speculative question: could these “lucky” and “unlucky” numbers be a clue that we’re living in a simulation? 🧐

What the App Does

The app visualizes the frequency of lotto numbers drawn in Germany, presenting the data as a heat map across multiple years and for all years combined. It’s designed to help spot trends—are certain numbers “luckier” than others over time? Here’s how it’s set up:

How the Data is Processed

The app pulls in all historical lotto draws in Germany, dating back to when the lottery first started. Using this data, it calculates:

• Main Numbers (1-49): The core numbers drawn in each game.
• Super Numbers (0-9): A bonus number in the German lottery system, offering extra prize potential.

The app then generates heat maps for each year and for all years combined, showing the frequency of each number. Darker colors represent numbers that have been drawn more often, and lighter colors (or absence of color) mark the less frequently drawn numbers.

Identifying the Hottest and Coldest Numbers

In addition to visualizing each year individually, the app provides an "all-years" view that summarizes the “Top 6” and “Bottom 6” numbers based on their historical draw frequency. It’s easy to see which numbers are consistently drawn and which seem almost ignored by the lotto gods.

For example:

• Top 6 Numbers: The most frequently drawn numbers over time 6 with a total of 6 5 4 extractions so far 26 with a total of 6 26
• Bottom 6 Numbers: The least frequently drawn numbers

• Hottest Super Number: The most frequently drawn super number, which happens to be 7.
• Coldest Super Number: The least frequently drawn super number, 8 and this one is also among the coldest lotto numbers.

These patterns make for interesting insights into what people might consider “lucky” and “unlucky” numbers.

Observing Patterns in the Chaos: Luck or Something Else?

Here’s where things get interesting. Lottery numbers are supposed to be random, and in theory, each number should have roughly the same chance of being drawn over time. But the heat maps show certain numbers cropping up more often than others. Could this be mere coincidence, or might it hint at something more… “programmed”?

Speculative Question: Are We Living in a Simulation?

This brings us to a fun, speculative question inspired by the simulation hypothesis. The simulation hypothesis, popularized by thinkers like Nick Bostrom, suggests that our reality might be a simulated construct—an advanced program, if you will, created by some future civilization.

If we were living in a simulation, could patterns like the consistent “luckiness” of certain numbers be seen as evidence? Maybe it’s a glitch, a bit of residual code, or even a feature programmed to give us something to wonder about. Why is 7 so lucky as a super number? Why is 13 and 8 so unlucky? Are these numbers arbitrary quirks, or do they hint at something beyond pure randomness? Why are the representation of these three numbers also so similar to one another ?

Of course, this is just playful speculation and I am pretty sure that in the next couple of hundred draws this will be the case. But there’s something oddly compelling about seeing recurring patterns in what should, by all accounts, be random events.

Want to Check It Out?

If you’re curious about the app or want to dive into the code, it’s available on GitHub: lotto-activity-graph. Feel free to play around, look for your own patterns, or even contribute!

Final Thoughts

In the end, the app is primarily a tool for data visualization, but it also opens up an interesting conversation about randomness, probability, and how we interpret patterns. Whether or not we’re living in a simulation, there’s something fascinating about finding meaning—even if it’s just for fun—in the chaos of the lotto.

Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think about the app, or share your own thoughts on patterns in randomness. Are they just coincidence, or could they hint at something more?