<< How big a % of the population has any clue what a "random" card means? >> Judging by the number of times I have been asked "what's the probability of that" by a companion, on noticing a digital clock which happens to read "12:34" or "11:11" etc., the proportion is lamentably low. Earnest punters with their "lucky numbers" and "betting systems" are no better. Incidentally, when asked to select a "random card" I might be tempted to reply that there is no such thing ... WFL On 4/13/18, Henry Baker <hbaker1@pipeline.com> wrote:
How big a % of the population has any clue what a "random" card means?
It only took mathematicians a few *hundred* years to figure this out, and perhaps they still aren't done yet. I'm not blaming the mathematicians; these are very, very subtle and tricky notions, so it doesn't surprise me that Ivy Leaguers -- particularly the ones in Washington, DC -- don't really understand these things either. Perhaps the minimum wage folk who purchase lottery tickets have a better idea that most about what "random" means.
At 06:06 PM 4/12/2018, James Propp wrote:
If you ask people to name a random card in a standard deck, what regularities govern their answers?
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