Re: [Phys-L] probability exercise: tack tossing

[Bill Norwood <bnorwood111@gmail.com>]

John,
- Yes, I heartily agree. A couple of courses in probability and statistics
have helped me deflect all manner of fraud over most of a lifetime.
- But, with no grasp of statistics, far as I know, my father was an
excellent crook spotter.
- So I guess the reality based cynicism I learned from him drive my minor
study of statistics which confirmed his cynicism.
Bill Norwood
On Apr 9, 2015 9:03 PM, "John Denker" <jsd@av8n.com> wrote:

> Hi --
>
> Here's an exercise in basic probability.  I've seen it used
> at every level from 5th grade through undergraduate.  As
> you might imagine, the level of analysis goes up with the
> older students, but the basic idea is the same.
>
> Get some /upholstery tacks/.  Toss them.  Observe the
> orientation.  Collect statistics.  The details are spelled
> out here:
>   https://www.av8n.com/physics/tack-tossing.htm
>
> Remark:  A very great deal of what we call "modern physics"
> aka "20th century physics" depends on probability.
>
> Even if it had nothing to do with physics, it would still
> be important.  Bad guys are continually trying to bamboozle
> voters, jurors, et cetera using various all-too-common
> statistical fallacies.  This is far more relevant to the
> average citizen than (say) anything on the FCI.
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