Guest Posted February 27, 2008 Report Share Posted February 27, 2008 If you and I both generate a random real number between 0 and 1, what is the probability that we will both generate the same number? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted February 27, 2008 Report Share Posted February 27, 2008 [0.000000000000000000000000101 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted February 27, 2008 Report Share Posted February 27, 2008 Without putting too much thought into this one, this depends on how the random number is generated. If we are both using the same random number generator (table) with the same seed, then the probability is one. Other than that, there could be differences based on the distribution of the numbers (for example, a uniform distribution vs. the Beta distribution). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted February 28, 2008 Report Share Posted February 28, 2008 (edited) there is no real number between the two, its a trick question Edited February 28, 2008 by the new riddler Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted February 28, 2008 Report Share Posted February 28, 2008 (edited) there is no real number between the two, its a trick question there is no REAL INTEGER between 0 and 1 but there are infinite number of real numbers. So, the probability is (1/infinite) =0....is it that easy??? Or, it might be one...if we are using the same generating table... Edited February 28, 2008 by storm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted February 28, 2008 Report Share Posted February 28, 2008 there is no REAL INTEGER between 0 and 1 but there are infinite number of real numbers. So, the probability is (1/infinite) =0....is it that easy??? It is that easy. What I was suggesting is that an event with probability zero needn't be impossible. Just infinitely improbable (hence the topic title). I know that in practice it might be hard or impossible to generate a truly random real number, but this is a thought experiment. Is there a distinction between infinitely improbable events and impossible ones? I suspect that infinitely improbable events occur all the time, and that infinite improbability is a mundane aspect of the universe but still seems to keep itself distinct from impossibility. But I'm not sure. Maybe someone with a good knowledge of quantum physics could set me straight on that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted February 28, 2008 Report Share Posted February 28, 2008 Point of view / outside the box (I don't like confined spaces) Fraction are made using real numbers eg 1,2, (1/2) ... is that possible real if there are two of anything, say apples, to chose from... Is this "spin" can it work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted February 28, 2008 Report Share Posted February 28, 2008 Point of view / outside the box (I don't like confined spaces) Fraction are made using real numbers eg 1,2, (1/2) ... is that possible real if there are two of anything, say apples, to chose from... Is this "spin" can it work? I don't understand the question I'm afraid. Sounds interesting though. Could you rephrase it a bit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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If you and I both generate a random real number between 0 and 1, what is the probability that we will both generate the same number?
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