Friday, February 10, 2006

Stats yet again!

Sigh!!!

Controversies.

Nevertheless, it’s been a good week for me. The cube takes me a maximum of 5 minutes. My results haven’t come out, yet. Exams start next week again, I’ve yet to buy books.

Yeah, that is what would qualify as a week good enough for me.

Yesterday, three of my best friends went out for a movie that I should have gone out for too(Uppi Dada M.B.B.S). Too bad I missed it. But, well it was time well spent at home anyway. Being the type of person that relinquishes the little free time I get, I imported an activity normally reserved for Multiple Choice exams.

Yes, I tossed coins. A Re.1 coin, minted 2001.

I tossed it once, heads.

I tossed it twice, heads again.

Thrice, heads yet again.

Four times, five times all the way up to sixty eight times.

The heads to tails ratio came out to an astonishing 45:23. Now, my statistics book tells me I am wrong, really wrong.

So, to test my hypothesis, I took a Re.2 coin. Minted 2003.

Well, again, the ratio was 42:26.

That got me thinking. Now, it’s only the second time that something so dramatic has happened to me.(I am obviously talking about me thinking).

So, are the coins in India biased towards heads?? Now, now, before you start barraging me with the choicest of abuses, let me assert. They are not biased.

But I, as my own personal opinion say, that yes, they are biased.

Now, it’s only to be found out whether my statistics teacher will buy my argument.

I hope he does.

11 comments:

Andalite said...

why sixty eight times dude? lol ive got 7 tails in a row once (won a best of 3, that went to best of 5, that went to best of 7, that went to best of 9 finally ended at best of 15 and i won 7-0.)

Gaurav said...

Well, since I am eccentric most of the time, I just thought sixty eight times should be enough to prove that Indian coins are biased towards heads.

However, your reporting new developments. Are you sure you were not using a Kuwaiti coin?? I've heard rumours that they are biased towards the tail.

Or probably my thesis needs a rethink.

abhas1 said...

you've got it all wrong man!

here's how it's done (this may be wrong, but that's what the book asks for!)

you have = 1 coin

max. outcome = heads, tails
= 2

favourable outcome= heads
= 1

p(of getting heads)= fav. outcome
------------
max. outcome
= 1
-
2

or maybe that's how i do it. perhaps it's wrong? i need help!!

Sataract said...

hmmm......try 36 times next time....u'll get 17 heads and 19 tails and the next time u flip the coin,i'll snatch it away and go buy an eclair.
but even then....way to go gaurav.....u just beat my way of wasting time!!!!

Gaurav said...

@sataract
How do you waste time man?

Sataract said...

the only way i can dude.......count the number of strands of hair in my beard

Anonymous said...

since the last blog has kinda snowballed outta proportion, i think its safer to comment here.

how the hell can you do the cube in 5 minutes? and how the hell do people do it blindfolded!!! HOW!!
i must learn to this.

LoSeR

abhas1 said...

what? where's the previous post?? it was a masterpiece! see, it grew like a plant, u left it for a day, and the nos. grew higher!

Andalite said...

Jango... there is a logic to the cube right? Like there\'s a logic to the cylinder.. i havent been able to figure out the logic to the cube... (thats cause i dont own one) will try it out.. hope it doesnt go the project sudoku way... hmm imagine writing a program to solve a rubix cube in the minimum possible moves :D:D

Gaurav said...

@andalite
Yeah, there's a definite easy logic to the cube. First, the misconception is that after building up the first side you've got to get on to the second side. That'll never work. We always end up breaking the side that way. It just goes all together. The way I do it, it doesn't even look like it's completed until the last move.

Gaurav said...

Hah! My new record is 3 min 12 seconds.