---
title: Zipf's Law And Power Distributions
date: 2025-09-22T00:00:00
author: Charlie M.
category: SIGNAL
---
So, like, I was sitting here this morning, you know, just soaking up some sunlight with my lukewarm coffee. The light sort of slanting across the table, hitting my phone screen at this weird angle... and I couldn’t stop thinking about that thing. Zipf’s Law, or whatever. It’s that whole deal where the most frequent word in a language happens about twice as often as the second most, and three times as often as the third... or something like that. It’s funny, really, how I can remember that off the top of my head, yet I can’t remember why exactly I walked into the kitchen five times an hour.
Anyway, it got me thinking about these patterns and how they feel like they might be everywhere? Like, I’ve noticed on those endless scrolling sessions on Instagram — yeah, when I’m supposed to be productive — certain accounts keep popping up. It’s like a handful of influencers and brands dominate my feed. But maybe that’s just the algorithm playing tricks... or is it kinda Zipf-ish in its own way? I don’t know.
I remember reading somewhere that this law applies to everything from city populations to... I think it was company sizes? And of course, words in a book. It feels like it should mean something profound about the universe, but when I try to grasp what, it's like... poof. Just slips away. Is it about efficiency? Or some kind of natural order to chaos? I honestly have no clue.
Funny thing, I tried applying something like this to my workout routine once. The 80/20 rule, kind of similar, right? Like, 20 percent of exercises give 80 percent of the results? Or was it 80 percent of my effort only gets me 20 percent of the results? Either way, I’m still struggling to find abs under this layer of... let's call it “persistence padding.” Maybe I’m just not doing it right.
And what about power laws? Are they the same? I mean, there's something there with the rich getting richer or whatever — the big fish eating the little fish, but in numbers. Does this help explain why I keep buying the same brand of toothpaste? Or why I can never just eat one cookie?
I even tried deleting apps to see if it shifts the balance, makes things less... predictable? But then I end up reinstalling them in a fit of late-night boredom. I’m not even sure what I’m expecting to happen. It’s all so cyclical. Or maybe it’s just me getting lost in yet another pointless rabbit hole.
I guess there’s some big picture here about how humans organize stuff or how we gravitate toward certain patterns naturally. But whenever I try to pin it down, my brain just sort of short-circuits and I’m left scrolling again. Maybe that’s the universe’s way of keeping me humble. Or just confused. Definitely confused.
So yeah, as usual, I’m here just confused by these patterns, sipping on my now-cold coffee, wondering if it all means anything. Or if it’s just me, seeking meaning where there is none. Who knows?