In a lottery you pick 6 numbers. Dev says picking 1-2-3-4-5-6 is foolish, because such a neat set…

Why

Dev is confusing 'looks random' with 'is more probable'. The draw does not know or care whether the six numbers it pulls form a neat run or a messy spread; every specific combination of six numbers is exactly as likely as every other, including 1-2-3-4-5-6. What fools us is that there are very MANY scattered-looking sets and very FEW neat-looking ones, so 'some scattered set' wins often, while 'this exact scattered set' is just as rare as the neat one. Test: 1-2-3-4-5-6 and 4-11-17-28-33-41 are each one single combination out of the millions possible — pick either and your chance is one in that same millions. His friend is right: each exact combination is equally likely, and a set looking patterned does not lower its odds. (There is one real reason to avoid 1-2-3-4-5-6: if it did win, many other people pick it too, so the prize would be split more ways.)