On Fri, 28 Oct 2005, bob wrote: > At 09:42 PM 10/27/2005, Nathan Pinno wrote: > > >If I create a program that randomly draws 6 numbers, its like the lottery. > >According to an article I read in Reader's Digest, if you get a Quick Pick > >- which is six numbers at random - you increase your odds of winning. > > Odds are how many tickets you buy relative to how many tickets everyone > else has bought. Has nothing to do with the mechanism for generating > numbers. Any guesses you make are "random".
My guess is that the point of the Reader's Digest article (I haven't read it, this is just my conjecture) is that a truly random (or pseudo-random) number is a better lottery play than a "favorite" number like an anniversary date, your kids' ages, etc. It's not that a random number is any more likely to hit the winning combination. But numbers that are based on dates or ages of a typical family are more likely to be played than a completely random set of numbers; and therefore, a win with a random set of numbers will likely have a smaller pool of winners with whom you'll need to split the payout. Put another way: a set of randomly selected numbers is no more or less likely to hit the lotto than a set of non-randomly selected numbers, so randomness does not affect the likelihood of there being a payout. However, the collision space for a set of randomly selected numbers is likely to be smaller than the collision space for a non-randomly selected set of numbers, which does affect the amount of a payout, in the event of a win. _______________________________________________ Tutor maillist - Tutor@python.org http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/tutor
