There are many situations in the real world where small initial differences can easily grow into very large differences just out of pure chance.
Since we are on a social network, let's create a toy model* where a number of posts all have the same probability to be reposted/shared/boosted by any person seeing them. Since the more people see a post, the more people have a chance of boosting it, the posts with more visibility are also the ones that are likely to gain more visibility. So small initial fluctuations (just one or two extra boosts at the beginning) can lead a post to skyrocket in popularity, even though it is not intrinsically "better" than any of the other.
If we simulate this process numerically and make a histogram of the result, we see that the distribution of how many boosts a post had rapidly grows a tail, with most posts having no visibility whatsoever, and a few having a LOT more than the average.
#ITeachPhysics #ProbabilityTheory #ToyModel

* In the #Physics jargon, a "toy model" is a very simple (often unrealistic) model, which nevertheless capture the essence of the problem, without being burdened by all the real world complications. If you ever heard about spherical cows in vacuum, that is a toy model!

an the reason why I picked up my iPhone 45 minutes ago 🙄… I wanted to recommend “Applied Optimal Estimation” by the technical staff at The Analytic Sciences Corporation (pictured).

I read through the first two chapters today, which swiftly review #LinearAlgebra and #ProbabilityTheory , then #LinearDynamicSystems , building steadily towards #autocorrelation and #autoregression , finally topping off with two paragraphs of the fast Fourier transform #FFT

If that sounds like it’s a lot for 90 pages— it is! I really enjoy how concise and lucid the writing is. It’s a technical manual for applied scientists in the mid 1970s. It’s meant to be useful, understandable, and point to further studies if desired. In other words, by reading books like this, I try to rehearse the content at the same time I learn how to present technical information in an accessible manner

James Bernoulli on #ProbabilityTheory and the application of #statistics

"I cannot conceal the fact here that in the specific application of these rules, I foresee many things happening which can cause one to be badly mistaken if he does not proceed cautiously." -1713, pt 4, cpt III

Now (7pm ET Wed) watch https://youtu.be/QS0VmCD9YLU(FEEL FREE TO SUBSCRIBE TO YOUTUBE
@hajiaghayi
FOR FUTURE LESSONS) Lesson 14: Introduction to Algorithms by Mohammad Hajiaghayi: We talk about #Probability (Part 2) useful for designing #randomized #algorithms

#algorithms, #design, #induction, #recursive, #randomizedalgorithms, #probability, #randominput ,
#probabilitytheory, #randomvariables, #expectations, #variance, #Bernoulli, #Binomial, #Poisson, #Normaldistribution, #Gaussian, #Python, #numpy.random, #scipy.stats, #correlation, #Pearson, #spearman, #geeksforgeeks , #hackerrank, #leetcode, #cs, #computerscience

In 1654, letters between Blaise Pascal and Pierre de Fermat established the basis of probability theory. #Poetry #Science #History #Mathematics #ProbabilityTheory #Pascal #Fermat (https://sharpgiving.com/thebookofscience/items/p1654.html)

1In 1654, letters between Blaise Pascal and Pierre de Fermat established the basis of probability theory. #Science #History #Poetry #Mathematics #ProbabilityTheory (https://sharpgiving.com/thebookofscience/items/p1654.html)

@pgrepds I thought I coudn't understand #probability.
Thanks to a teacher, I understand better the relationship between #probabilitytheory, #settheory and #topology. Now, I think I will be able to work these different fields together.

I have always neglected probability theory. I simply have little talent for it. But since I want to study extremal graph theory in the next few weeks, I guess I won't be able to avoid it any longer. #probabilityTheory

I get an extra layer of humor here by being amongst the LessWrong crowd...

#Peanuts #Lucy #CharlieBrown #Odds #NeverTellMeTheOdds #LessWrong #Rationality #Rationalism #ProbabilityTheory

#Introduction time!

I'm Lika, a data analyst. I have an organic chemistry background.
Hope to join an academic program focused on modern aspects of #combinatorics in the near future.

#highereducation #linearalgebra #machinelearning #mathteaching #neuralnetworks #probabilitytheory #statistics #documentaryfilms #boardgames #rocksinging

Fun fact: This year I had experience as a museum tour guide. I was telling about Andrei Sakharov: his study and research in the field of theoretical physics.