tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8095807065479059898.post3098910218159767827..comments2023-06-21T00:36:40.840-07:00Comments on Plead Ignorance: Red means STOPRobert the Skeptichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10863488312604865183noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8095807065479059898.post-17975847673208058222009-04-14T05:25:00.000-07:002009-04-14T05:25:00.000-07:00Ooh!
Maths was never my strong point. All I know ...Ooh!<br /><br />Maths was never my strong point. All I know is it's very funny and goes against instinct completely.<br /><br />That's really interesting, about that game show.<br /><br />Thanks for the maths lesson and the great Youtube vid Mr Skeptic!Rachel Noyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04117677609815658011noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8095807065479059898.post-21052843997358851422009-04-13T13:37:00.000-07:002009-04-13T13:37:00.000-07:00What you are describing, Ms Noy, is what is common...What you are describing, Ms Noy, is what is commonly referred to as "The Monty Hall Problem", named after the American TV game show. <BR/><BR/>Explained here:<BR/>www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhlc7peGlGg<BR/>You actually have a 66.% chance of picking the coin with the sticker... Unless what you are really doing is a coin version of "The Three-card Monty", in which case you have NO chance of picking the right card (or coin).Robert the Skeptichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10863488312604865183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8095807065479059898.post-19082864167126675072009-04-13T10:35:00.000-07:002009-04-13T10:35:00.000-07:00I'm now a member of the skeptic society too! The t...I'm now a member of the skeptic society too! The traffic light thing made me laugh.<BR/><BR/>I used to be very open minded to all that stuff until I started learning magic tricks and realised how easily we're fooled.<BR/><BR/>One of my favourite probability-based ones is getting three identical coins, and putting a red sticker on one of them. The aim is to get the one with the sticker. You then mix them all around, remembering which one has the sticker on. You get the other person to pick a coin, you then pick up the coin with the sticker. You ask them if they want to swap with you, and they ALWAYS say they'll stick if they don't have the sticker (which has always happened when I've done it, bar once), even though when they picked there was a 33% chance of it being the right one, if they were to swap it would be 50%.<BR/><BR/>Maths is fun! Gotta love human nature.Rachel Noyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04117677609815658011noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8095807065479059898.post-32439944324992413452009-04-07T14:09:00.000-07:002009-04-07T14:09:00.000-07:00Reason is overrated, after all, no?Who cares about...Reason is overrated, after all, no?<BR/><BR/>Who cares about scientific accuracy when you KNOW the truth!Rachelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11314429932343190739noreply@blogger.com