The Right Question

”If you want the right answer,
ask the right question.”
-- ancient American proverb

Old joke:
Two gamblers, a mathematician, and a stage magician walk into a bar.

The bartender says, “This is the weirdest thing.  I’ve been flipping this coin and it’s come up heads twenty times in a row.  What are the odds of it coming up heads again?”

The first gambler says, “You’re on a lucky streak, it’ll come up heads again.”

The second gambler says, “No, he’s pressing his luck.  He’ll break his streak if he keeps it up.”

The mathematician says, “My friends, you are both wrong.  Each flip of the coin is independent of all the others.  He stands a 50-50 chance of it being either heads or tails.”

And the stage magician asks, “What’s wrong with that coin?”

Learn how to ask the right question.

© Buzz Dixon