People around the world were shocked when Hillary Clinton, ahead in many polls, didn’t end up the U.S.‘ president-elect. But that doesn’t mean the polls themselves were wrong.
What makes your brain go all-in on what it thinks you’re seeing?
Chips image via www.shutterstock.com.
How does your brain deal with the ambiguous and variable visual information your eyes collect? Neuroscientists think it bets on what’s the most likely version of reality.
Pi is at the center of all circles.
Holger Motzkau
The first digits of numbers in a data set aren’t distributed equally. And now you know more than a lot of fraudsters do – and should – when they’re making up their phony numbers.
Preventing crime before it happens, while saving resources, sounds like a great use of big data. But these calculated probabilities raise big questions about civil liberties.
The original 1812 gerrymander district designed to favor Massachusetts governor Elbridge Gerry.
Elkanah Tisdale
The gerrymandered district has been part of the US political landscape for two centuries. Impartial math suggests several methods for drawing fair, competitive congressional districts.
This sign might actually be appealing to treasure hunters in the distant future.
Alan English CPA/Flickr
Unpredictability is omnipresent in life, from dealing playing cards, through contracting an illness or getting promoted, to the rise or fall of equity markets. For those attempting to make the calls on…
The bigger the promises, the bigger the lie.
John Giles/PA
As notorious weather predictions go, the “barbecue summer” of 2009 is up there with Michael Fish’s dismissal of the incoming 1987 hurricane. The summer turned out to be wet and windy, and questions were…
Maths can help in the hunt for MH370.
EPA/Australian Department of Defence
That the Malaysian government, with the help of the UK’s INMARSAT, was able to dramatically narrow down the search area for flight MH370, made it seem much more likely that the wreckage of the plane might…
We are used to thinking in probabilities: will it be stormy enough to need an umbrella?
Luis Martins
In the lead up to the release next month of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC’s) Fifth Assessment Report we are exploring concepts of confidence and certainty in climate science. You…
We share a birthday? Really? What are the chances?
massdistraction
How many people do you have to put into a room before you are guaranteed that at least two of them share a birthday? We all know and love the blissful feeling of winning an argument. Well, trust me, that’s…
Going against your intuition could increase your chances of winning a car instead of a goat, according to the Monty Hall problem.
mgbutterfly
The game show host adjusts his bow tie and flashes you an oh-so-wicked smile as he brings your attention to three closed doors. “Behind one of these doors is the prize of your dreams!” he announces excitedly…
A successful gamble on climate will require more than a lucky guess.
kfergos/Flickr
Imagine a six-sided die with four red faces, one green face and one blue face. I am going to roll the die, and before rolling I will ask you to predict which colour it will land on: red, green or blue…