Put these numbers in order

James and John are told to put the numbers 1-10 in order. James puts them in the order 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10; John puts them in the order 8,5,4,9,1,7,6,10,3,2. Can you explain John's reasoning?

Do you mean other than their placement in alphabetical order according to their English spelling?

Originally posted by royalchicken
Do you mean other than their placement in alphabetical order according to their English spelling?

No, that's all there is to it. How about this: 1,2,3,9,8,5,4,6,7 ?

Try this: 3. 3, 5, 4, 4, 3, 5, 5, 4, ...

Originally posted by penley
Try this: 3. 3, 5, 4, 4, 3, 5, 5, 4, ...

i think the next set would be 3,3,5 again. that is, 3, 4, 5 in circular order. two 3s, one less which is 5; two 4s, one less; two 5s, one less; and since 3 follows 5, we are back to two 3s, one less, and so forth.

here is another really obscure one:
1, 7, 4, 2, 3, 5, 0, 6, 9, 8.

Originally posted by penley
Try this: 3. 3, 5, 4, 4, 3, 5, 5, 4, ...

Looks like a par on the front nine - not too shabby penley, what's your handicap?