Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site petrus.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!petrus!karn From: karn@petrus.UUCP (Phil R. Karn) Newsgroups: net.astro,net.sf-lovers Subject: Re: Quantum Universe Message-ID: <474@petrus.UUCP> Date: Tue, 20-Aug-85 14:12:32 EDT Article-I.D.: petrus.474 Posted: Tue Aug 20 14:12:32 1985 Date-Received: Sat, 24-Aug-85 13:28:39 EDT References: <696@inuxe.UUCP> <115@tekchips.UUCP> Distribution: net Organization: Bell Communications Research, Inc Lines: 16 Xref: watmath net.astro:937 net.sf-lovers:9675 > "Page estimates that the chances of 'The Creator sticking > in a pin' and pulling out just this combination of qualities > that makes such a unique universe are way beyond > astronomical, 1 in (10,000,000,000)^124." There's an amusing anecdote along these lines. A certain mathematician who had achieved a fair reputation for his understanding of probability and gambling was getting a lot of phone calls from card players who were asking him the odds for various hands they had drawn. He got so fed up with these annoyances that when one night someone called him and asked "I just drew a royal straight flush! What were the odds on my doing this?", he replied "exactly the same as any other hand", and hung up the phone. He was right, of course. Phil