scott <sco### [at] scottcom> wrote:
> >> So you would also agree then that 1/2 + 1/4 + 1/8 + ... equals 1 with
> >> infinitely many terms?  You see where this is going?
> >
> >  I agree with it, and no, I don't see your point.

> That the sequence is also the probability of a head being tossed after N 
> tries of throwing a coin.  After 1 try it's 1/2, after 2 tries it's 1/2 + 
> 1/4, etc.  So after infinitely many tries the probability is *equal* to 1.

> Now simply replace "head being tossed" with "this sequence of characters 
> being the works".

  You talk as if I had said somewhere that in the infinite case the
probability does *not* equal 1. I don't remember saying such a thing.

> >  I honestly don't understand.

> If you are choosing numbers in the range 0...1, 0.5 has an infinitesimally 
> small probability of being chosen, 1.5 has a zero probability of being 
> chosen, they are not the same probability.  (In some situations you can call 
> the probability of 0.5 being chosen "zero", but you must remember that the 
> zero came from 1/infinity and not "real" zero incase you use it in later 
> calculations).

  Now it's you who sounds like saying that 1/2+1/4+... does not equal 1.

-- 
                                                          - Warp

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