Quotes About Probability

I focus on the most important form of innumeracy in everyday life, statistical innumeracy--that is, the inability to reason about uncertainties and risk.

Absurdly improbable things are quite as liable to happen in real life as in weak literature.

Life is like a huge lottery in which only the winning tickets are visible.

The more tickets you have in a lottery, the worse your chance. And it is the same of virtues, in the lottery of life.

I do not believe that the Good Lord plays dice.

But there was one other thing that the grown-ups also knew, and it was this: that however small the chance might be of striking lucky, the chance is there. The chance had to be there.

In fact, if one considers the possible constants and laws that could have emerged, the odds against a universe that produced life like ours are immense.

The further we are from the last disaster, the closer we are to the next.

A reasonable probability is the only certainty.

Just because a blindfolded drunk can cross Westheimer Road unharmed in the middle of traffic once doesn't mean he can do it again, Hirs said.

Manhattan is an accumulation of possible disasters that never happen.

"Murphy's Law": If something can go wrong, it will.

There is only chance in this world, chance and physics.

There is only chance in this world, chance and physics. Anyway

Did you know," says Marie-Laure, "that the chance of being hit by lightning is one in one million? Dr. Geffard taught me that." "In one year or in one lifetime?" "I'm not sure." "You should have asked.

Did you know," says Marie-Laure, "that the chance of being hit by lightning is one in one million? Dr. Geffard taught me that." "In one year or in one lifetime?" "I'm not sure." "You should have asked.

If the laws of physics worked, he would make it across. If they didn't, he would die. It was as simple as that.

Psychology helps to measure the probability that an aim is attainable.

It seems hopelessly improbable that any particular rules accidentally led to the miracle of intelligent life. Nevertheless, this is exactly what most physicists have believed: intelligent life is a purely serendipitous consequence of physical principles that have nothing to do with our own existence.

There are times when success doesn't make sense on a purely mathematical basis. I've played absolutely perfectly before, put in a masterful performance, and then my perfect play evaporated because one guy lost his mind and got lucky. Of course, I've also won that way.

We didn't push the Russians to intervene, but we knowingly increased the probability that they would.

In an environment where you've got to push innovations out the door fast and keep the cost of innovation low, the probability that you'll be successful is actually much higher.

The most important reason why it's dangerous to risk all your chips pre-flop is that you simply can't be certain that you are even in a coin flip situation at that time.

There's no such thing as a 100-year flood.