Recent content by cliffhanley203

“It seems to me that there is no point in talking about probability if everything has probability 0 or 1.” I think I know what you mean but I’ll ask why anyway? “But yes, if things are deterministic, then an event is either definitely going to happen, with probability 1, or is definitely not...

“Let's hope not[that some mathematicians say that if you tossed the coin an infinite number of times you would get exactly 50% heads, 50% tails.].” Thanks, I will challenge the next one that tells me that. “It's well known that equalizing (i.e. having exactly count = number of heads − number...

Apes, according to Brittanica (elsewhere in Brittanica, i.e, not in this article); gibbons; orangutans; gorillas; chimps; bonobos; humans. “The oldest known fossil hominins [tribe] — i.e., primates belonging to the human lineage after it separated from lineages going to the apes — are 6...

Thank you, Bandersnatch, I've made a start on it and finding it an enjoyable read so far (I particularly enjoyed finding out that sequoias can grow to 300ft). I'm not sure about the significance of our genetic similarity to other organisms though (from other articles, not this one). I've read...

Homework Statement I've just read that light can behave like a wave at times, and a particle at other times. How does the light from the Sun traveling towards Earth behave? A wave? A particle? Or both? And is it in any sense something that actually starts at the Sun, travels across space and...

Homework Statement How much energy do I consist of given that I have a mass of 90kg? Homework Equations E=mc^2 The Attempt at a Solution E=90x300,000,000^2 E=90x9x10^16 E=8.1 x10^18 E=8.1 thousand quadrillion Joules?

Thanks, Steven. But I'm talking about a deterministic world where it's been determined that red will win. If, in a deterministic world, it was determined that the next toss of a coin would come up heads then the P for heads is 1, the P for heads is 0, yes? And heads must happen; tails can't...

“No, a standard normal random variable has a normal (bell shaped curve) distribution with mean 0 and standard deviation” Thanks, Dale, but that’s a bit advanced for me at the moment. “So p=0 doesn't necessarily mean that it cannot happen.” Is this an instance of the P of something being zero...

But it's probability wasn't zero prior to it happening, that would be impossible. If, in a deterministic world, it is determined that red will appear, the P of non-red appearing is (using the classical interpretation) zero. In this case non-red can't happen (if it does then it wasn't determined...

“Assigning an event a probability does not permit us to make statements about the event happening or not happening unless those statements also speak of probabilities.” Even if the P is 1? Or if the P is O? I was under the impression that if the P is 1 it must happen, and if the P is 0 it can’t...

“Yes, your example corrects this statement.” So, just to be clear; using the classical interpretation in a deterministic world where it’s been determined that the ball will land in a red pocket the P of red is; P(r) = 1. P(r complement) = 1-1=0 ?

Is anyone here familiar with the Brittanica.com article on evolution? I was just about to read it but had a quick look at the article history to see if it was by a scientist or just one of the Brittanica editors. It is by a scientist but one who's won the Templeton Prize and written a books...

Homework Statement I’m reading my way through the Brittanic.com article on abiogenesis and I have a question regards the following line taken from the article;[/B] “...a single RNA catalyst could have produced mulitiple living forms...” Q. Is this implying that RNA could have existed...

“You have a fundamental misunderstanding. "Probability" is a number associated with a set. If E is a set, P(E compliment) = 1 - P(E). If P(E) = 1 then P(E compliment) = 0.” Where is my fundamental misunderstanding? Complement means, in the above example, ‘not E’, or, not the event/set in...