Re:Paradoxes of Probability and Other Statistical Strangeness
by bjl on Tuesday June 13, 2017 @05:44PM
(#14548925)
You can certainly pick a random real number from the unit interval.
Re:Paradoxes of Probability and Other Statistical Strangeness
by waqf on Tuesday June 13, 2017 @06:28PM
(#14549204)
Really? Go on, then, pick one and tell us what it is (or at least tell us what your procedure was).
Re:Paradoxes of Probability and Other Statistical Strangeness
by Houshalter on Tuesday June 13, 2017 @08:39PM
(#14549935)
One example in a finite space and time setting would be selecting a random point on the ground. Say by dropping a ball there or something. The exact coordinates it lands is a random real number. But the probability that it landed on those exact coordinates is exactly 0, hence a paradox.
The here is the non-constructive nature of the real numbers. That is not to say the reals are useless, but they are not much more than a formalism. It's rather useful though because it's hard to get numbers like pi or e. Its really nice that any real interval is compact, but that too is hard to replicate.