- #1
oz93666
- 174
- 29
Look at this email I received from a company called ;Wisegeek' they send out interesting news items each day ..
"If you spin a clean, new Lincoln penny, it will fall tails-side up about
eight times out of 10.
Forget what you know about statistical probability. If Persi Diaconis and
researchers at Stanford University are right, spinning a standard-issue
penny (the one with the Lincoln Memorial, clean and shiny) will come up
tails side up roughly 80 percent of the time -- not 50-50, give or take a
percent either way, as we’ve all come to expect. The reason: The side
with Lincoln’s head is a tad heavier than the other side, causing the
coin’s center of mass to be slightly skewed. And so, the spinning coin
tends to fall toward the heavier side more often, leading to significantly
more “tails.” "
This, I am certain, is rubbish ...Thoughts?
"If you spin a clean, new Lincoln penny, it will fall tails-side up about
eight times out of 10.
Forget what you know about statistical probability. If Persi Diaconis and
researchers at Stanford University are right, spinning a standard-issue
penny (the one with the Lincoln Memorial, clean and shiny) will come up
tails side up roughly 80 percent of the time -- not 50-50, give or take a
percent either way, as we’ve all come to expect. The reason: The side
with Lincoln’s head is a tad heavier than the other side, causing the
coin’s center of mass to be slightly skewed. And so, the spinning coin
tends to fall toward the heavier side more often, leading to significantly
more “tails.” "
This, I am certain, is rubbish ...Thoughts?