re: Cashier at store told me one guy has spent $4000 on Powerball

M is the standard abbreviation for 1000 count of any item
#/M means per thousand
again, carry on
the math in this thread is amusing

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M is the standard abbreviation for 1000 count of any item
#/M means per thousand
again, carry on
the math in this thread is amusing

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Don't be obtuse. M has been widely adopted to mean a million as it is the metric abbreviation for mega.

You can find million dollar figures quoted as $---M in publications across the world, including the New York Times, Washington Post, and other traditional print papers..

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Recently my sister-in-law found out she was having twins, and her husband, an engineer, said, "there is a 2/3 chance of having a boy because there are three scenarios." I tried to explain that it's actually 3/4 (assuming 50/50 for each child), and he still looked unconvinced.

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Telling when order matters and when it doesn't can be subtle, though it really isn't here. An engineer ought to have been exposed to truth tables, which is the way to think about the problem. I'd be interested to hear how the 288'ers in this thread think about the lottery problem.

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Recently my sister-in-law found out she was having twins, and her husband, an engineer, said, "there is a 2/3 chance of having a boy because there are three scenarios." I tried to explain that it's actually 3/4 (assuming 50/50 for each child), and he still looked unconvinced.

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Identical boys
Identical girls
Fraternal Boys
Fraternal Girls
Fraternal girl/boy
Identical boy/girl

4/6 = 2/3

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In other words, even quantitatively inclined individuals have trouble with the logic of probability.

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That is understandable when you consider how many people, even those with PhDs in mathematics, were stumped by the original Monty Hall problem.

Probability is difficult because it often goes against intuition and sometimes even against logic.

The twin deal is a perfect example. Logically you would deduce that there are 3 scenarios - BB, boy and girl, or GG. However, mathematically there are 4 scenarios because you can create an order for the twins. BG and GB are not the same with regard to probability as they are two distinct outcomes.

I think it is often easier in that situation to explain it using BB or GG as your basis - meaning it may be easier to explain that there is a 25% chance of having two girls, so obviously there is a 75% chance of having at least one boy.

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Cashier at store told me one guy has spent $4000 on Powerball

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I bet that idiot expects to win too!

lol what a waste of 4k doesnt the person know that the more you buy doesn't necessarily mean the better odds you have in winning?

Each ticket you buy slightly increases your odds

No, if that was the case, no one would ever win