For Russ Standish, the question is here<https://plus.google.com/116264189418994838408/posts/CSXeyftovTJ>. And here's my plodding answer.
If 25% were the correct answer, then either (a) or (d) would be right. So one would have a 50% chance of getting the correct answer. Hence 25% is not the correct answer. If 50% were the correct answer, then (b) would be right. But then one would have only a 25% chance of picking it by chance. So 50% is not the correct answer. If one allowed either 25% or 50% as the correct answer, then 75% would be the correct answer since (a), (b), or (d) would be correct. The joke should be that (c) reads 75% rather than 60%. In that case (d) would be the correct answer. Hence any answer would be correct and one would have a 100% chance of getting the correct answer. But none of the answers is 100%. So the correct answer is 0%. If as John suggests (d) were 0%, then if we decide that neither 25% nor 50% is the correct answer. then (d) is the correct answer. But in that case, one would have a 25% chance of getting the correct answer, etc. On the other hand, the above could be taken to show that none of the suggested answers is correct. With (c) at 60%, that seems to be a reasonable conclusion. So pick any answer and one will be certain to be wrong. But since none of the answers offers that probability, any selection will be consistent with that result. Of course there is no way to select that answer from the ones given. But if there were, as we saw when we allowed (d) to be 0%, that would foul that answer up anyway. *-- Russ * On Sat, Oct 29, 2011 at 2:30 PM, Russell Standish <r.stand...@unsw.edu.au>wrote: > What was the question? > > On Sat, Oct 29, 2011 at 08:27:35AM -0600, Victoria Hughes wrote: > > >Best statistics question ever > > >Posted: 28 Oct 2011 01:25 AM PDT > > > > > > > > >By way of Raymond Johnson, the best statistics multiple choice > > >question ever written on a chalkboard. Try not to think too hard. > > >[via] > > > > > > > > >You are subscribed to email updates from FlowingData > > >To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. Email > > >delivery powered by Google > > >Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 > > > > > ============================================================ > > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > > Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College > > lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org > > > -- > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Prof Russell Standish Phone 0425 253119 (mobile) > Principal, High Performance Coders > Visiting Professor of Mathematics hpco...@hpcoders.com.au > University of New South Wales http://www.hpcoders.com.au > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > ============================================================ > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College > lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org >
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