Protected page

Probability theory

From Uncyclopedia, the content-free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Probability)
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Probability theory tells us that the odds of rolling a "lucky six" are one in six.
Whoops! Maybe you were looking for Theory of relativity?
“The odds against there being a bomb on a plane are a million to one, and against two bombs a million times a million to one. Next time you fly, cut the odds and take a bomb.”

 Benny Hill

Probability theory is one of the rare mathematical theories that doesn't really show anything. It is therefore widely used.

History of development

Probability theory was developed by Gerolamo Cardano, Pierre de Fermat and Blaise Pascal. In this research team there was no cooperation at all, because they all lived at different times and were too lazy to invent the time machine. So the development of this theory lasted for centuries and is (probably) not yet finished. Cardano et al. were all committed into mental hospitals late in their lives. What are the odds against that? It is not clear whether they were actually mentally disoriented, or merely seemed to be, because of answering simple yes-and-no questions by speculating about "the chances."

The reason for this theory – as mathematicians do things only on purpose – is unknown to humanity. But some think these scientists had had enough of answering the questions exactly and decided that with the theory of probability it would be a way easier. But when they were told they were not doing their job properly, to complicate the situation more, these mathematicians developed some incomprehensible formulas to prove the opposite.

Convenient applications

The theory of probability should be used in several cases:

  • When you don't want to give a direct answer to a question
  • When you don't have an answer to a question but want to make people think you do
  • When you want to complicate everything you have said and make everyone confused

People who very often use the theory of probability are called politicians.

Using theory of probability to solve problems or answer questions is brilliantly simple:

  • First, you should have a relevant question or a problem which should be answered using probability: questions of the "How are you?" type are irrelevant in this case; therefore, it is not understood by many people and so the answers like "one hundred percent okay" to such questions are rather common.
  • Then, you should foreshadow all possible outcomes. If the question is "With what probability will anything happen to us?" the answers are:
  1. Maybe all the particles in the Universe will stop moving and nothing will happen at all.
  2. Maybe the Universe exists in a giant computer and, because of a computer virus, everything will stop moving in our world so nothing will happen.
  3. Maybe scientists have reached the absolute zero temperature in their lab, so the world will get frozen and nothing will happen.
  4. Maybe the chronology will get broken, the future won't exist anymore, so nothing will happen.
  5. Maybe something will happen.
  • After that, calculate the amount of outcomes which will cause positive effect and the amount of those that will cause a negative one. In our example there are four outcomes that will cause nothing to happen (although this is grammatically incorrect) and one which will cause something.
  • Finally, calculate the percentage to answer the question. In our example there is a twenty percent possibility that anything at all will happen in future.
  • Also, always remember that only scientists like precise numbers. Average people prefer them to be rounded up.

Conclusion: Twenty percent is closer to zero percent than to a hundred percent. With the numbers rounded up we can say that nothing whatsoever will take place in our Universe. There is hardly a reason to finish this article, as there is a zero percent chance that anyone will read it. Q.E.D.

Influence on history

Probability theory tells you that you have an excellent (five-in-six) chance of surviving! Wanna try?

Few people realize the effects of probability theory on world history. Russian history is a perfect example:

  1. No one would argue that Russian roulette is based on probability theory. People deduced that, with only one bullet in the revolver, odds are they will survive after pulling the trigger. In contrast, the chances of surviving are negligible in Polish roulette, in which contestants start with six bullets.
  2. Russian czars, to amuse themselves, at the end of the nineteenth century used probability theory to answer questions from "the proletariat". This caused the misunderstanding between social classes (as at that time most Russians were not mathematicians), which was the direct cause of the revolution.

Russia is not the only country influenced by probability theory. No war would occur without the ability to compute the chance of winning.

Effects

The problem with probability theory is that, even if you know there is a sixty percent chance there won't be a math test today, it isn't an effective argument when you aren't prepared for it. Some people don't understand this and so, as scientists have discovered, probability theory is the primary cause of the recent major increase in laziness.

Nevertheless, people unfamiliar with probability theory may commit giant mistakes. For example the twentieth century's greatest advance in education (the multiple-choice test graded by optical reader) immediately increased the odds that a student who doesn't know the topic can get a good grade from none- to one-in-four.

Summary

The reader needs to decide whether he really wants to understand probability theory. (Too late!)

The chance that the reader will read this entire article is negligible: Not only is it a tiny drop of water in the huge septic tank that is Uncyclopedia, the article's length is proportional to the reader's weariness on reaching the end – and the odds of your ever mastering the subject just diminished slightly.

See also

Potatohead aqua.png
Featured version: 8 July 2013
This article has been featured on the front page—You can vote for or nominate your favourite articles at Uncyclopedia:VFH.Template:FA/08 July 2013Template:FA/2013Template:FQ/08 July 2013Template:FQ/2013