The Birthday Paradox - let's test it

Google def of Paradox: "a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition that when investigated or explained may prove to be well founded or true."

So you may not like it being called a paradox, but based on the definition above, I think it fits.

Yes, it is, and I am not sure you truly understand it because you're fixated on six billion people. The number of people has nothing whatsoever to do with it. It's simply this: assuming birthdays are random, how many people would you have to randomly pick before there's more than a 50 percent chance two of them share the same birthday. Population size is not important.

In one sense, it's similar to how a polling firm like Gallup can survey just 2400 people out of a population north of 200 million (excluding children), and produce accurate assessments of what everyone is or does or thinks.

We'll have to agree to disagree on this one. I think it fits the definition, you don't, let's just RDWHAHB.

That said, it isn't seemingly absurd or self-contradictory to me, but I see a lot of people for whom it is.

 

March 2

 

May 19

 

Well I just changed that

 

April 30

 

June 12

 

November 6

 

Feb 23

 

August 8

 

April 22

 

Remember remember the 5th of November. Because it's my birthday.

 

November 8

 

October 12
big 5-0 today

 

November 27

 

April 29th

 

05/05

 

October 5

 

October 16

 

February 06

 

9/11

 

1/31

 

11/17

 

I lied about my birthday.

 

6/26

 

01/01

New Years baby in the house.

 

12/31

 

3/2

 

10/29

 

OP, I find it interesting that it took so long for a May birth month. Have you looked at the statistics on that? The odds of 1 person not being born in May is .91% (or 334 other days of the year -365) so to get to 67 before a May birthday is 99.7% ... that's pretty impressive.

 

october 10

i remember going through this problem in college as well. professor ran through the math and then suggested we test the theory by going around the room any listing our birthdays. it was a small discussion class, maybe only 20 students. i was in the front corner so went first...dude next to me had the same birthday. :fro:

 

My Dad's birthday is October 8th, mine is the 16th, and my sister's is the 23rd. My Mom says she was trying to get one of us to arrive on his birthday. I think it was just cold in February!

 

And Valentines Day

 

June 30

 

August 12

 

11/2

 

May 28

 

3/26

 

hbd

You, me and Joe Castigliano

 

April 2