Knowing The Fundamentals Of Probability Theory

By Jaclyn Hurley


For many years now, mankind has been trying to figure out why some random events do happen out of nowhere. The chances of an event that does not happen very often out of nowhere happening is something that has amazed mankind. It is because of this that the fundamentals of probability theory was created so that man may solve these issues.

The probability theory is the branch of math that would deal on the chances of certain events happening or not. Now the amazing part here is that it is actually possible for a person to use mathematical computations to see what outcome will turn up. So by utilizing these principles, one will be able to make accurate assumptions.

Just for the information of people, this portion of statistics was founded by the famous Blaise Pascal. Now during his time, many people still did not know how to compute the chances of events happening or not which is why they would only rely on their own knowledge and experience in order to make up certain conclusions. Now since Pascal was able to come up with these concepts, people may now predict the outcome of an event using computations.

Now the main principle of this part of statistics would be that all the outcomes of a certain situation has an equal chance to happen. For example, if one would roll a die, then there is a one out of six chance that a number one would pop out. This means that all numbers have an equal chance of showing up without taking into consideration any outside factors.

Now the above mentioned principle is the very foundation behind the theory of objective probability which solely relies on math equations. Now do take note that this would only rely on the formulas and computations that were given. This means that this type of statistics does not at all take note of any assumptions or opinions made by the human mind.

The opposite of this concept is known as the subjective theory which would take into consideration the knowledge of a person and would actually state that the probability of an event happening exists only in the mind of a person. Basically, this would include the opinions, past experiences, and the research of a person. Although this would also include some calculations, it would be mostly lie on the assumptions of the predictor and how he would perceive the happening in his mind.

Then there is the concept of relative frequency which deals with ratios of happenings rather than chances and percentages. Now the main principle here is that one would be creating a ratio of the chance of the event happening versus the chance of the times that the event could have happened. In other words, if one would want an event to take place, it has to happen many times first.

So if one would want to know the outcome of a certain situation, then it would help to know these concepts. Of course it cannot give the exact answer but it can always give a person a good idea of what his chances are. It is for this reason that gamblers who know statistics would go home with a lot of money.




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