On Thu, 26 Sep 2002 14:56:13 -0400, Christopher James Huff
<chr### [at] maccom> wrote:
>Say you have 2 (identical) dice. Is the 1:1 combination less likely than 
>the 1:4 combination?

Yes. Given that the two dice are identical you can't tell the
difference between 1:4 and 4:1, thus 4:1 is twice as likely to occur
as 1:1. If we change the premise so we only have one dice that we roll
twice 1:4 is as likely to occur as 1:1, now we've given value to the
order (1:4 <> 4:1). If you really want fun with permutations, try to
calculate the cumulative odds on a slot machine. I once attempted that
for a simulated slot machine I programmed, I ended up fiddling the
values until emparative testing showed the desired return rate (or
close enough) instead.

/Erkki

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