(March 13, 2016 at 4:16 pm)robvalue Wrote: I've never had anyone get so angry about probability before.Really? I've seen a genetics class go bat shit over these two truths:
When I've taught it in the past, if I got any signs of life out of my students I was doing well.
1 The probability of tossing 100 heads in a row is astronomical.
2. If you have just tossed 99 heads in a row, the chances of tossing another head is 50%.
Anger, fear, doubt, it was all there. Counter intuitive truths scare people. Shall we discuss economics. It's scary for many of the same reasons.
If there is a god, I want to believe that there is a god. If there is not a god, I want to believe that there is no god.