Audio note: this article contains 33 uses of latex notation, so the narration may be difficult to follow. There's a link to the original text in the episode description.
Many of you readers may instinctively know that this is wrong. If you flip a coin (50% chance) twice, you are not guaranteed to get heads. The odds of getting a heads are 75%. However you may be surprised to learn that there is some truth to this statement; modifying the statement just slightly will yield not just a true statement, but a useful one.
It's a spoiler, though. If you want to figure this out as you read this article yourself, you should skip this and then come back. Ok, ready? Here it is:
It's a <span>1/n</span> chance and I did it <span>n</span> times, so the odds should be... <span>63%</span>. Almost always.
** **
** The math:**
Suppose you're [...]
Outline:
(01:04) The math:
(02:12) Hold on a sec, that formula looks familiar...
(02:58) So, if something is a 1/n chance, and I did it n times, the odds should be... 63\%.
(03:12) What Im NOT saying:
First published:
November 18th, 2024
Source:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/pNkjHuQGDetRZypmA/it-s-a-10-chance-which-i-did-10-times-so-it-should-be-100)
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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO).
