# The whole count lab without a device

Invent a harmless pretend question: which badge shall a pretend rocket display show — comet, moon or sun? Make three named rows on paper, or say/direct them in your usual way. Another three clearly different invented labels are welcome. No real people, names or survey required.

Choose one pretend reply at a time and keep its place in a source list. You can also add an unavailable reply: it gives no preference or reason. Each available reply belongs once to one named category. Keep unavailable status outside the choice counts.

Try an own table first. Count how many times each label occurs; include zero for an intended label with no recorded choice. Check the three frequencies sum to the available replies, then add the unavailable count to account for every fictional invitation. Say one careful statement and one thing still unknown. A helper may check only after your first idea, and name that help.

For an unrelated model, imagine triangle, circle, triangle and one unavailable reply. Triangle2/circle1/square0 gives3 available +1 unavailable =4 invitations. Square0 is a recorded zero choice count, not an invented missing preference. These are supplied model calculations, not your own evidence.

Change one reply and try a new table if wanted. Keep earlier choices separately if you want to compare them. Nothing here establishes an actual survey, independently acquired data or attained standard.