Tag: Statistics
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You are part of the royal family. Probably.
A leading geneticist has calculated that almost every Briton is directly descended from Edward III. But many find facts like this scarcely believable. Why are we so bad at probability?
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Big guns fire blanks in World Cup week one
Can a new team win the World Cup? Germany lost; Brazil drew; Argentina are on the brink — the minnows now have a chance. Here are five things you may have missed from the matches so far.
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How data has transformed the World Cup
Are statistics killing the magic of football? The upcoming World Cup will be the most analysed ever, as football has finally started to take data seriously. How much does it matter?
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‘Super blue blood Moon’ lights up the sky
Why are coincidences so interesting? Yesterday morning a large, reddish Moon heralded an incredibly rare celestial convergence. What do coincidences say about the way we think?
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Meet the world’s largest known prime number
How important are prime numbers? The largest known prime number has just been discovered by an engineer from Tennessee. It is 23 million characters long and is known simply as M77232917.
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A tax cut that could change America forever
A wage rise for all or simply a gift for the super-rich? Republicans passed their sweeping tax overhaul through the Senate at the weekend. It could reshape whole areas of American life.
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Man City on course for footballing history
Will Manchester City stay unbeaten? They have been hailed as the “best football team in Europe,” and some think they will not lose a game all season. Stats show that this may not be true.
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Slanging match over Boris EU sums continues
Is the foreign secretary’s claim that the UK will “take back control of £350m per week” true? The UK’s stats watchdog says it is a “clear misuse of statistics”. Johnson insists he is right.
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Winston Churchill: alien life is out there
A newly-found article shows the man who led Britain to victory in the second world war arguing life may exist on other planets. Most scientists agree. So what are the chances they are right?
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‘How winning the lottery ruined my life’
Jane Park was 17-years-old when she became the UK’s youngest Euromillions winner. Four years later, she says the £1m prize changed her life — for the worse. Now she wants to sue. Why?
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Criticism adds up over Oxfam inequality claim
Eight men own as much as the world’s poorest 3.6 billion people, according to anti-poverty charity Oxfam. Free trade advocates have hit back at the charity’s maths. Are the claims valid?
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Just eight days to go and too close to call
A week ago it seemed Clinton had victory sewn up. Then the polls started to narrow. Then the FBI announced a new inquiry into her misuse of emails. Now some are predicting a shock Trump win.
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Voting patterns mean Trump could win (really)
There are 99 days until the US presidential election. Many consider the prospect of a Donald Trump victory unthinkable. But now one industry-leading pollster says it is very possible.
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Three weeks to go: polls say UK could leave EU
The latest surveys say Britain could be on the verge of quitting the EU. Commentators have learnt the hard way to be wary of opinion polls. Who should really take comfort from the data?
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Trump and Sanders leave pundits floundering
Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders were written off by commentators. But as Americans prepare to choose their next president, both are threatening to spring shocks. Have the experts lost touch?