I dont know if my maths is correct but I've just had a Muslim on the ropes, who was trying to use the long number divisible by 19 miracle, by pointing out that the odds of the miracle happening are 19 to one because every 19th whole number is a multiple if 19. I reasoned this by saying that the odds of any whole number being divisible by 1 is 1 (or evens? I dont know, I'm not a gambler) because every number is divisible by 1, likewise the odds for 2 are 2 to 1 because every second number is a multiple of two, the odds for 3 are three to one because every 3rd number is divisible by three.
He came back at me with a number which is divisible by 7 when read forwards or backwards (for example 1234567 and 7654321) and smugly asked me what the probability of that was. So I Informed we work out that probability by multiplying both numbers together, and since both numbers had odds of 7 to 1 the odds of both numbers were 49 to 1. Which is hardly miraculous.
After this he informed me that it was up to me if I believed in these miracles but he still does because he's analysed the numbers himself. So I pointed out that people see better miracles down the bookies every time a long shot comes in.
So, presuming my maths is correct, it's been over 20 years since I did this at school, i think we may have a good way to debunk the numeric "miracles" and prove the person using them doesn't understand maths.
BTW, can anyone confirm if my maths is correct? I've tried googling but it's too confusing for my brain on a Sunday morning.
He came back at me with a number which is divisible by 7 when read forwards or backwards (for example 1234567 and 7654321) and smugly asked me what the probability of that was. So I Informed we work out that probability by multiplying both numbers together, and since both numbers had odds of 7 to 1 the odds of both numbers were 49 to 1. Which is hardly miraculous.
After this he informed me that it was up to me if I believed in these miracles but he still does because he's analysed the numbers himself. So I pointed out that people see better miracles down the bookies every time a long shot comes in.
So, presuming my maths is correct, it's been over 20 years since I did this at school, i think we may have a good way to debunk the numeric "miracles" and prove the person using them doesn't understand maths.
BTW, can anyone confirm if my maths is correct? I've tried googling but it's too confusing for my brain on a Sunday morning.
