An international team of scientists, led by colleagues from the University of Amsterdam, has determined that the odds of landing on heads or tails when tossing a coin are not exactly equal. The probability of the coin landing on the same side as it started may be slightly higher than 50%. reports English edition of ArsTechnica.
According to classical probability theory, when a coin is tossed, the probability of landing heads or tails is the same. However, in 2007, famous American statistician Percy Diaconis suggested that the probability of the coin landing on the side it was tossed could be slightly higher than 50% due to small fluctuations in the direction of spin. He suggested that this imbalance could reach 1%.
To test this hypothesis, scientists conducted an experiment, the largest of its kind, involving 48 people who tossed a total of 350,757 coins. Each toss was recorded on video.
The results of the experiment confirmed that there was an advantage in favor of the side the coin was tossed, but the researchers did not find a significant increase in the probability of heads or tails.
For this discovery, the scientific team was awarded the Ig Nobel Prize. Sometimes called the Anti-Nobel Prize, the Ig Nobel Prize is awarded annually at the University of Massachusetts for the most unusual and entertaining scientific achievements.
Previously Ig Nobel Prize rewarded For the discovery that animals can breathe through the anus.