[extropy-chat] what is probability?

gts gts_2000 at yahoo.com
Sat Jan 13 21:29:17 UTC 2007


On Sat, 13 Jan 2007 13:39:05 -0500, spike <spike66 at comcast.net> wrote:

>> > > "Consider a fixed circle and select a chord at random.
>> > > What is the probability that this random chord is
>> > > longer than the side of the equilateral triangle
>> > > inscribed in the circle?" (as given by Gillies, 2000)
>> > >
>> > > At least three very plausible solutions exist to this
>> > > problem...
>>
>>
>> Cool problem!

Here is more discussion of it:
http://www.cut-the-knot.org/bertrand.shtml

Bertrand's paradox has been around since 1888, and was one the nails in  
the coffin of the classical theory of probability.

It still haunts certain modern probability theorists, (namely those who  
would have us believe that probability theory is a branch of logic).

-gts




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