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Old 12-17-2004, 02:09 PM  
Libertine
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Join Date: May 2002
Posts: 17,860
Quote:
Originally posted by chodadog
I know where you're getting that from. You think that the 1 in 3 "contains" both possibilities and therefore each one is only a 1 in 6 chance. I totally disagree, and also, this is way out of line with the explanation given on all these websites these other idiots keep linking to. They seem to think it's a 50% chance for one, and a 33% chane for the other.

I think if i'm wrong, then you're right, but those other 'tards are way out of it.

But anyways. On to my explanation. Sure, there is a 1 in 3 chance that the person is going to choose the right one initially, but there are actually four possible outcomes, and thus, you're dealing with a 1 in 4 chance of each outcome.

A is right and B is revealed => 1/4
A is right and C is revealed => 1/4
B is right and C is revealed => 1/4
C is right and B is revealed => 1/4

It doesn't matter how many boxes there are. It matters how many outcomes there are. I'm starting to confuse myself. =\
Think about what you just said:
A is right and B is revealed => 1/4
A is right and C is revealed => 1/4
B is right and C is revealed => 1/4
C is right and B is revealed => 1/4

That would mean that there is 1/2 chance of A being right in the first place, and with 3 equal options, that would be really weird.

You said it yourself, the "b or c" is a subset. A subset, by definition, only takes part in the set it is a subset of.
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