exercise:42db0d031a: Difference between revisions
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<ul style="list-style-type:lower-alpha"><li> | <ul style="list-style-type:lower-alpha"><li> | ||
Suppose that you are looking in your desk for a letter from some time ago. Your desk has eight | Suppose that you are looking in your desk for a letter from some time ago. Your desk has eight | ||
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the <math>p_i</math>'s increase and the <math>q_i</math>'s decrease. (This problem is from Falk et al.<ref group="Notes" >R. | the <math>p_i</math>'s increase and the <math>q_i</math>'s decrease. (This problem is from Falk et al.<ref group="Notes" >R. | ||
Falk, A. Lipson, and C. Konold, “The ups and downs of the hope function in a fruitless search,” | Falk, A. Lipson, and C. Konold, “The ups and downs of the hope function in a fruitless search,” | ||
in ''Subjective Probability,'' G. | in ''Subjective Probability,'' G. Wright and P. Ayton, (eds.) (Chichester: Wiley, 1994), pgs. | ||
353-377.</ref>) | 353-377.</ref>) | ||
</li> | </li> | ||
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B1.</ref> For the ages 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60, the probability of a | B1.</ref> For the ages 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60, the probability of a | ||
woman in the U.S.\ developing cancer in the next ten years is 0.5%, 1.2%, 3.2%, 6.4%, and 10.8%, | woman in the U.S.\ developing cancer in the next ten years is 0.5%, 1.2%, 3.2%, 6.4%, and 10.8%, | ||
respectively. At the same set of ages, the probability of a woman in the U.S. | respectively. At the same set of ages, the probability of a woman in the U.S. eventually developing cancer is | ||
39.6%, 39.5%, 39.1%, 37.5%, and 34.2%, respectively. Do you think that the problem in part (a) gives an | 39.6%, 39.5%, 39.1%, 37.5%, and 34.2%, respectively. Do you think that the problem in part (a) gives an | ||
explanation for these data? | explanation for these data? | ||
Latest revision as of 00:21, 13 June 2024
- Suppose that you are looking in your desk for a letter from some time ago. Your desk has eight drawers, and you assess the probability that it is in any particular drawer is 10% (so there is a 20% chance that it is not in the desk at all). Suppose now that you start searching systematically through your desk, one drawer at a time. In addition, suppose that you have not found the letter in the first [math]i[/math] drawers, where [math]0 \le i \le 7[/math]. Let [math]p_i[/math] denote the probability that the letter will be found in the next drawer, and let [math]q_i[/math] denote the probability that the letter will be found in some subsequent drawer (both [math]p_i[/math] and [math]q_i[/math] are conditional probabilities, since they are based upon the assumption that the letter is not in the first [math]i[/math] drawers). Show that the [math]p_i[/math]'s increase and the [math]q_i[/math]'s decrease. (This problem is from Falk et al.[Notes 1])
- The following data appeared in an article in the Wall Street Journal.[Notes 2] For the ages 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60, the probability of a woman in the U.S.\ developing cancer in the next ten years is 0.5%, 1.2%, 3.2%, 6.4%, and 10.8%, respectively. At the same set of ages, the probability of a woman in the U.S. eventually developing cancer is 39.6%, 39.5%, 39.1%, 37.5%, and 34.2%, respectively. Do you think that the problem in part (a) gives an explanation for these data?
Notes
- R. Falk, A. Lipson, and C. Konold, “The ups and downs of the hope function in a fruitless search,” in Subjective Probability, G. Wright and P. Ayton, (eds.) (Chichester: Wiley, 1994), pgs. 353-377.
- C. Crossen, “Fright by the numbers: Alarming disease data are frequently flawed,” Wall Street Journal, 11 April 1996, p. B1.