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Michael

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Ditto, except for the going back to school part.
June 20, 2019 at 07:23
Mail order brides aren't people.
June 20, 2019 at 06:48
It's described in the argument: "If Leslie's figure is used, then 60 billion humans have been born so far, so it can be estimated that there is a 95% ...
June 20, 2019 at 06:41
In memory of the discussion we had a while back on the Sleeping Beauty problem, say you're going to be put to sleep. A scientist will select one of th...
June 20, 2019 at 06:39
One of the criticisms of the Doomsday argument can apply to your example: Simply put, the fact that we're more likely to pick 2019 from graph 2 than f...
June 19, 2019 at 21:18
The Doomsday argument is an interesting one to consider:
June 19, 2019 at 21:04
That's wrong. When the experimenter is deciding who to give the red ball to at T1 there's only a 1/15 chance that he picks me. Therefore there's a 1/1...
June 19, 2019 at 20:41
Yes, you're right. The chance that current time T >= 1 is 1, the chance that T >= 2 is 14/15, the chance that T >= 3 is 4/5, the chance that T >= 4 is...
June 19, 2019 at 19:52
It was what you said in your first post: Ignoring the actual dates and population figures and just assuming that it's a projection of how the human po...
June 19, 2019 at 18:49
P(T1) = 1/15 P(T2) = 2/15 P(T3) = 1/5 P(T4) = 4/15 P(T5) = 1/3 So, if we have to bet on a time then betting on T5 gives us the best odds. This is wher...
June 19, 2019 at 18:10
This is ambiguous, so perhaps this will better explain what I'm saying: Let's say 98 people have 1 lottery ticket and you have 2 lottery tickets. Of e...
June 19, 2019 at 17:43
Sorry if I wasn't clear. I'm just told the rules and then given a hidden ball. I don't know if my ball is blue and I don't know if the time I was give...
June 19, 2019 at 17:35
That’s not right. Take my example with the coloured balls. 1 red is given out at T1, then 2 orange at T2, then 3 yellow at T3, then 4 green at T4, and...
June 19, 2019 at 17:27
No I’m not. I’m saying “I’m going to bet that it’s blue but it’s more likely not blue” - which is true if there are 15 balls and only 5 are blue. Two-...
June 19, 2019 at 17:05
If the chances are 3-1 then you’re not most likely to win (be in the last generation). You’re 3 times more likely to lose (not be in the last generati...
June 19, 2019 at 17:01
I don’t think it is. The only presumption is population growth until an abrupt demise. It then follows that the final X years will have a greater popu...
June 19, 2019 at 16:59
I am most likely in the last generation only if there’s > 50% chance that I’m in the last generation, and this is only true if > 50% of every human wh...
June 19, 2019 at 16:44
I’m saying that if you have to bet on a colour then bet on blue because it has the best odds, but if you can choose to not bet then don’t because you’...
June 19, 2019 at 16:40
The particular claim of yours which is wrong is "a random person is always most likely to be among the largest generation/group". This is only true if...
June 19, 2019 at 16:30
What you originally said is "Whoever/whenever you are it’s always most likely that yours is the final generation. The rationale being that if the fina...
June 19, 2019 at 16:27
No I'm not. I'm saying that if you have to pick a generation then you're more likely to be right if you pick the final generation, but that you're mor...
June 19, 2019 at 15:27
Assuming population growth (and an abrupt rather than gradual end), you're more likely to win if you select the last 5 rooms (assuming the rooms are n...
June 19, 2019 at 15:15
I don't have to pick one. It is true that I'm more likely of being within generations 1-4 (66.7% chance) than being in generation 5 (33.3% chance). Th...
June 19, 2019 at 14:58
If you're asked to pick a colour then, yes, you should say blue -- although you're more likely to be wrong than right, and so if you're asked if it's ...
June 19, 2019 at 14:45
Let's phrase this another way. There's 1 red ball, 2 orange balls, 3 yellow balls, 4 green balls, and 5 blue balls. I give you a ball at random. It's ...
June 19, 2019 at 14:26
I'm not saying that I'm in multiple generations. I'm saying that I'm more likely to be in generation 1 or generation 2 or generation 3 or generation 4...
June 19, 2019 at 14:23
OK, and then of those you're more likely on the 4-6 side, and then of those more likely on the 5-6 side, and then of those more likely on the 6 side? ...
June 19, 2019 at 14:18
I did that here: 1: 100 people (6.7%) 2: 200 people (13.3%) 3: 300 people (20%) 4: 400 people (26.7%) 5: 500 people (33.3%)
June 19, 2019 at 14:15
Say you roll a dice. If it's 2-6 then roll again. Repeat until you roll a 1. According to your reasoning, your first roll is more likely to be 2-6 tha...
June 19, 2019 at 13:48
This is misleading. Assume 5 generations with populations like this: 1: 100 2: 200 3: 300 4: 400 5: 500 It's more likely that I'm in generation 5 than...
June 19, 2019 at 13:16
I suppose a simpler example would be to say that I'm given a number at random from a range of 1-n. What is the probability that the number I was given...
June 19, 2019 at 13:10
a) I am a postman. b) Mary is married to me. c) Therefore, Mary is married to a postman. Isn't this valid?
June 19, 2019 at 11:29
OK, but he clearly misunderstood Gettier because Gettier didn't conclude that knowledge is justified belief. Gettier only concluded, in his own words,...
June 19, 2019 at 11:20
Who wrote this? Clearly not Gettier. Gettier himself didn't conclude that knowledge is justified belief.
June 19, 2019 at 10:38
That's not Gettier's conclusion. Gettier's conclusion is that " does not state a sufficient condition for someone's knowing a given proposition."1 1 h...
June 19, 2019 at 10:00
In: Brexit  — view comment
Which makes me wonder what they think Corbyn will do to the UK if they're willing to damage the economy and break up the union to ensure Brexit but no...
June 18, 2019 at 18:55
In: Brexit  — view comment
But not a limit on control over immigration from non-EU countries, and yet there's more immigration from non-EU countries, so if immigration is a prob...
June 18, 2019 at 18:49
In: Brexit  — view comment
So they want autonomy even if it means breaking up the union and damaging the economy? But they don't want autonomy if it means a Corbyn-led governmen...
June 18, 2019 at 18:05
In: Brexit  — view comment
You're probably joking, but breaking up the UK and damaging the economy isn't going to make Britain great. So honestly what's the real reason those Co...
June 18, 2019 at 17:54
In: Brexit  — view comment
According to this, in 2018 there were almost 350,000 immigrants from non-EU countries and just over 200,000 immigrants from EU countries. If the gover...
June 18, 2019 at 17:49
In: Brexit  — view comment
The thing is, we already have immigration regulation for EU citizens. We can kick people out after 3 months if they can't prove they're working, seeki...
June 18, 2019 at 16:20
In: Brexit  — view comment
I didn't think it was like that here. Prime Ministers aren't like Presidents. Though the biggest takeaway is really that Conservatives are willing to ...
June 18, 2019 at 16:16
In: Brexit  — view comment
Apparently Corbyn in literally† the worst thing in the world: https://d25d2506sfb94s.cloudfront.net/cumulus_uploads/inlineimage/2019-06-17/Con%20party...
June 18, 2019 at 12:34
Don’t have reason. Just feels wrong.
June 07, 2019 at 16:08
No. I don't know, but according to the World Medical Association: I can understand wanting to save someone's life (against their wishes), but what if ...
June 07, 2019 at 14:52
According to this BBC article: Does that count as euthanasia?
June 07, 2019 at 14:33
I went to Birmingham last weekend for a weekend bender. Was awesome. Going to London next weekend for a weekend bender. Will be awesome.
June 07, 2019 at 14:29
Counter-prediction: /uploads/files/zu/zcv409xj1yphqpg5.jpg
June 07, 2019 at 14:28
Yes. Are you serious in suggesting that it was a planned demolition or whatever it is 9/11 skeptics believe? Because if it were that there'd be far mo...
June 06, 2019 at 10:32
But a negligible amount which means not enough to make a difference. If I were to stand in front of a train I would provide negligible resistance, and...
June 06, 2019 at 10:25