• xmunk
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    1 month ago

    The monte carlo paradox - my brain really refused to grok it for a long time.

    • vala@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      If you mean the Monty Hall paradox, this is how I’ve recently been able to understand it.

      You start with a 1/3rd chance of being right. That’s a 2/3rds chance you are wrong. Your first pick is likely wrong.

      The host now must open a losing door. Since you likely already picked a losing door, the host likely only has one option for which door to reveal.

      So since chances are best that you first picked a wrong door, then the host picked the other wrong door. Which means the one that hasn’t been picked by anyone yet is likely the winning door.

      Edit: Monte Carlo paradox is a thing. My bad.

      The gambler’s fallacy, also known as the Monte Carlo fallacy, occurs when an individual erroneously believes that a certain random event is less likely or more likely to happen based on the outcome of a previous event or series of events.

      For this one I like the example: “The surgery fails 9/10 times. The last 9 patients have died. Does that mean you in the clear?”