Rare Event Probabilities

Commenters debate and calculate the statistical odds of a specific unlikely event occurring, often challenging perceptions of rarity by considering multiple trials or base rates.

📉 Falling 0.4x Science
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Comments
20
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#390
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Keywords

e.g LIGO lspace.org STILL wikipedia.org probability chance odds happening chances multiples billion collision calculated likelihood

Sample Comments

awb May 31, 2021 View on HN

Anyone want to roughly calculate the odds of this actually happening?

brandall10 Mar 30, 2023 View on HN

What is the statistical chance of that happening?

loco5niner Jun 7, 2019 View on HN

Can suggest it's more like 999 times out of 1000?

wwwtyro Nov 15, 2022 View on HN

The odds of this seem astronomically small.

mr_mitm Apr 23, 2023 View on HN

Let's just say the probability is negligible.

picsao Oct 13, 2021 View on HN

The likelihood of it happening to one specific person is small. The likelihood of it happening at all is huge.

1wd May 29, 2018 View on HN

"Million-to-one chances...crop up nine times out of ten." https://wiki.lspace.org/mediawiki/Million-to-one_chance

stdbrouw Feb 2, 2021 View on HN

Nitpick: really more like a 15% chance over 11 months.1 - (1 - 5/10000)^330 => 0.152(But I think you make a great point, it sounds like a tiny chance but it really does add up.)

rbanffy Oct 28, 2009 View on HN

Anyone cares to calculate the odds of this happening by accident?

cortic Apr 6, 2021 View on HN

A 23% chance of a 1 in 10,000 chance thing happening every 14,400 chances? That can't be right.