Re: Re: [Harp-L] on the matter of shared birthdays

[Garry Hodgson <garry@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

"John Kerkhoven" <solo_danswer@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> A burning issue, I know....
> 
> There is a brief discussion of the probabilities of birthday sharing on
> pages 142-143 of the Life Science Library (1963) book on Mathematics.
> 
> The probability of two people in a group sharing the same birthday increases
> with the number of people in the group. Above 50, the likelihood is almost
> certain.

i'd note that this discussion has focused on the probability that people
in a large group will share some birthday, not one particular birthday, like,
say, paul butterfield's.  that's a different calculation.


----
Garry Hodgson, Technical Consultant, AT&T Labs

do for others with no desire of return.
we should all plant some trees
we will never sit under.