Related papers: Thou shalt not say "at random" in vain: Bertrand's…
Bertrand's paradox is a famous problem of probability theory, pointing to a possible inconsistency in Laplace's principle of insufficient reason. In this article we show that Bertrand's paradox contains two different problems: an "easy"…
This note is mainly to point out, if needed, that uncertainty about models and their parameters has little to do with a `paradox'. The proposed `solution' is to formulate practical questions instead of seeking refuge into abstract…
We present a conclusive answer to Bertrand's paradox, a long standing open issue in the basic physical interpretation of probability. The paradox deals with the existence of mutually inconsistent results when looking for the probability…
The well-know needle experiment of Buffon can be regarded as an analog (i.e., continuous) device that stochastically "computes" the number 2/pi ~ 0.63661, which is the experiment's probability of success. Generalizing the experiment and…
We consider a model of randomness for self-similar Cantor sets of finite and positive $1$-Hausdorff measure. We find the sharp rate of decay of the probability that a Buffon needle lands $\delta$-close to a Cantor set of this particular…
We solve a variant of the classical Buffon Needle problem. More specifically, we inspect the probability that a randomly oriented needle of length $l$ originating in a bounded convex set $X\subset\mathbb{R}^2$ lies entirely within $X$.…
I'll discuss how Goedel's paradox "This statement is false/unprovable" yields his famous result on the limits of axiomatic reasoning. I'll contrast that with my work, which is based on the paradox of "The first uninteresting positive whole…
I think we can agree that dealing with uncertainty is not easy. Probability is the main tool for dealing with uncertainty, and we know there are many probability-related puzzles and paradoxes. Here I describe a rather idiosyncratic…
The two envelopes paradox is discussed. By calculating the conditional probability, we arrive at a conditional expectations which differs from existing results.
Bertand's paradox is a fundamental problem in probability that casts doubt on the applicability of the indifference principle by showing that it may yield contradictory results, depending on the meaning assigned to "randomness". Jaynes…
We construct games of chance from simpler games of chance. We show that it may happen that the simpler games of chance are fair or unfavourable to a player andyet the new combined game is favourable -- this is a counter-intuitive…
The Parrondo's paradox is a counterintuitive phenomenon where individually-losing strategies can be combined in producing a winning expectation. In this paper, the issues surrounding the Parrondo's paradox are investigated. The focus is…
Contingency and accident are two important notions in philosophy and philosophical logic. Their meanings are so close that they are mixed sometimes, in both everyday discourse and academic research. This indicates that it is necessary to…
What is the probability that a needle dropped at random on a set of points scattered on a line segment does not fall on any of them? We compute the exact scaling expression of this hole probability when the spacings between the points are…
In this work, Bernoulli's Law of Large Numbers, also known as the Golden theorem, has been extended to study the relations between empirical probability and empirical randomness of an otherwise random experiment. Using the example of a coin…
Parrondo's paradox is about a paradoxical game and gambling where two probabilistic losing games can be combined to form a winning game. While the counter intuitive game is interesting in itself, it can be thought of a discrete version of…
There is much interest in providing probabilistic semantics for defaults but most approaches seem to suffer from one of two problems: either they require numbers, a problem defaults were intended to avoid, or they generate peculiar side…
Many writers have observed that default logics appear to contain the "lottery paradox" of probability theory. This arises when a default "proof by contradiction" lets us conclude that a typical X is not a Y where Y is an unusual subclass of…
Meta-analysis is an important tool for combining results from multiple studies and has been widely used in evidence-based medicine for several decades. This paper reports, for the first time, an interesting and valuable paradox in…
We investigate Bertrand's probabilistic paradox through the lens of discrete geometry and old-fashioned but reliable discrete probability. We approximate the plane unit circle with $1/n$ times $1/n$ boxes and count the pairs of boxes…