# \#probability

**URL:** https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/tag/probability/817.md

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## [The New Feudalism](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/t/the-new-feudalism/4853)

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**Author:** [@Gavin](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/u/Gavin)\
**Replies:** 4\
**Last updated:** [19 February 2025 08:44 UTC](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/t/the-new-feudalism/4853 "2025-02-19T08:44:44Z")

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Those of us who have been hanging on to Kamala’s every word may have missed other things which have been happening in the world. Mark Steyn summarizes one of them – which either represents an extremely improbable event …

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## [Markov Processes, Matrix Algebra, and Snakes and Ladders](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/t/markov-processes-matrix-algebra-and-snakes-and-ladders/3941)

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**Author:** [@johnwalker](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/u/johnwalker)\
**Replies:** 0\
**Last updated:** [4 November 2023 14:57 UTC](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/t/markov-processes-matrix-algebra-and-snakes-and-ladders/3941 "2023-11-04T14:57:53Z")

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Here is more about the Snakes and Ladders game, whose origins trace to ancient India, where it was a metaphor for progression through life and the operation of karma. It can be modeled by a Markov chain, …

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## [The Sleeping Beauty Problem—A Conundrum in Decision Theory](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/t/the-sleeping-beauty-problem-a-conundrum-in-decision-theory/2743)

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**Author:** [@johnwalker](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/u/johnwalker)\
**Replies:** 0\
**Last updated:** [13 February 2023 13:58 UTC](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/t/the-sleeping-beauty-problem-a-conundrum-in-decision-theory/2743 "2023-02-13T13:58:09Z")

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The Sleeping Beauty problem, an enduring puzzle which has been debated since the mid-1980s, even has implications for the anthropic principle and multiverse models in cosmology. It seems to me that the ass…

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## [The 100 Prisoners Puzzle: A Combinatorial Conundrum](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/t/the-100-prisoners-puzzle-a-combinatorial-conundrum/1625)

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**Author:** [@johnwalker](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/u/johnwalker)\
**Replies:** 0\
**Last updated:** [1 July 2022 11:47 UTC](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/t/the-100-prisoners-puzzle-a-combinatorial-conundrum/1625 "2022-07-01T11:47:55Z")

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The 100 prisoners problem was stated as follows by Philippe Flajolet and Robert Sedgewick: The director of a prison offers 100 death row prisoners, who are numbered from 1 to 100, a last chance. A room co…

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## [The Coupon Collector's Problem](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/t/the-coupon-collectors-problem/883)

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**Author:** [@johnwalker](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/u/johnwalker)\
**Replies:** 0\
**Last updated:** [14 February 2022 14:27 UTC](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/t/the-coupon-collectors-problem/883 "2022-02-14T14:27:35Z")

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Why does it take so long to “collect them all”?

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## [Problematic Probabilities—Bertrand's Paradox](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/t/problematic-probabilities-bertrands-paradox/611)

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**Author:** [@johnwalker](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/u/johnwalker)\
**Replies:** 2\
**Last updated:** [23 December 2021 03:50 UTC](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/t/problematic-probabilities-bertrands-paradox/611 "2021-12-23T03:50:05Z")

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What is the probability a random chord drawn across a circle will be longer than the sides of an equilateral triangle inscribed within it? This is easy to state, and almost as easy to “solve”, until you as…