system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Why do most fans, humidifiers, etc, seem to go from off, to the highest setting and then down from there?

Seriously, why not just off, low, medium and high. Or off, 1, 2, 3. They all seem to be off, 3, 2, 1.
gpt
Basically, it's to ensure that the motor gets enough power to start the fan moving.  If you went from off to low power, the motor might not get enough power to actually move the fan.  If it can't actually turn over, then instead of turning electricity into motion, the motor will turn electricity into heat and can burn out.