Re: Let's see what happens

From: Tom Potter (tdp_at_earthlink.net)
Date: 07/29/04 

Date: Thu, 29 Jul 2004 21:34:35 +0800

"K. Jones" <shadetree1999@hotmailNODAMNSPAM.com> wrote in message
news:rnCNc.23492$i_2.1034366@news20.bellglobal.com...
> Ok, two engineers at work are having a, ummm, "difference of opinion" on
how
> to solve a useless problem.
>
> I quote :"If you were to flip a coin - just a regular coin toss - there
are
> three possible outcomes.
> 1.. Heads
> 2.. Tails
> 3.. Or it lands and remains on its edge."
> Which has led to another "discussion" as to which newsgroup would be the
> most appropriate forum for this question.
>
> One suggests sci.physics because of momentum etc., the other says
> probability, as you can neglect it landing and remaining on edge, because
> the possibility of it doing so is infinitesimally small.
>
> Any suggestions I can relay to these two mental midgets?

4. How about the coin reaching escape velocity?
You'd better also check with a space newsgroup. 

--
Tom Potter     http://home.earthlink.net/~tdp

Relevant Pages

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    ... Two flips, four possible combinations ... 50% of the outcomes are 1 head, ... 37.5% of the outcomes are 2 heads, 2 tails. ...
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  • Re: Lets see what happens
    ... Or it lands and remains on its edge." ... conservation of angular momentum. ... Heads or tails. ...
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    ... So would tails, using a different logic. ... Your problem is that you think choosing heads is also ... predicting future outcomes. ... It's not a fair toss, and is under the control of the tosser or ...
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  • Lets see what happens
    ... to solve a useless problem. ... three possible outcomes. ... Heads ... Tails ...
    (sci.physics)