Mystical balls
FEEDBACK has been discussing probability with friends. Inevitably, we got onto the subject of lotteries 鈥� and particularly whether 鈥渟ystems鈥� could work. A popular suggestion was to pick numbers that hadn鈥檛 come up recently. Stands to reason, people said: if the draw is fair, eventually each number must come up as often as the others, so these are overdue.
鈥淵es, 鈥榚ventually鈥�,鈥� says a mathematician we know, 鈥渂ut do you know quite how big infinity is?鈥�
鈥淭hat鈥檚 just the gambler鈥檚 fallacy,鈥� say others who list 鈥渄ebunking鈥� as a hobby. And, lo! The UK鈥檚 National Lottery publishes bar charts of the most and least frequent numbers, with the preface: 鈥淒espite the draws being totally random, some numbers have a habit of cropping up more than others, while others hardly appear at all!鈥� If that is a disclaimer, then it probably manages at the same time to reinforce the fallacy, possibly encourages punters to waste more money in the belief that rare numbers must be due their turn, and certainly raises the blood pressure of people who care about mathematics.
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鈥淐an you explain exactly,鈥� another friend who teaches probability to business students asked a class, 鈥渢he mechanism whereby a ball would 鈥榢now鈥� how the last draw went, and adjust its behaviour to suit?鈥� That worked for most of them, though some clung to the 鈥渞are鈥� number theory.
鈥淭hese were smart folk,鈥� the teacher adds, 鈥減reparing for business school at Harvard, Stanford or Wharton 鈥� and still some of them arrived with a world model that allows for a mystical force that links the fates of lottery balls.鈥�
Relieved physicists
LAST year we highlighted here the plight of particle physicists working at a mine in Boulby, Yorkshire (24 May, 2003). With no toilets installed at their newly refurbished underground laboratory, desperate researchers were left with a dilemma: should they wait up to 6 hours for the next lift to take them 1.5 kilometres up to the surface, or find a quiet corner in the salt mine? Male physicists confided to Feedback that they often took the second option and relieved themselves against a salt wall. But what about the women? So much for equality in physics, we chided.
Naming and shaming seems to have worked, as we learn that a self-composting toilet was unveiled down the mine last month. Now that鈥檚 a relief.
European waste disposal
TALKING of which: A 鈥渇ree guide to waste disposal in Europe鈥� is available at . 鈥淐omplying with new EC WEE directives.鈥� How very appropriate, says Kate Gregory, who spotted it. 鈥淟ARGE room in spacious, sunny Victorian house in Barnes: Seek female, non-smoker, cat lover to share house with four others,鈥� says the advert Maureen Measure read on a college notice board. It concludes: 鈥淣o scientists鈥�. There should be a law against it.
Washing machine blues
WE ALL know the irritating fact that the washing machine, TV or computer functions perfectly when, but only when, a qualified repair operative is present. Feedback has toyed with the idea of photographing said operatives and placing life-size cut-outs around the place to keep the machinery going.
But, as Bruce Utting observes, the phenomenon doesn鈥檛 seem to have a name. If Parkinson鈥檚 law 鈥� that work expands to fill the time available for its completion 鈥� has a name, surely this situation deserves one too? Can readers help?
Six-legged tortoises
OUR report of alligators being classified as 鈥渇ur-bearing animals鈥� in order to give them legal protection (30 October) reminded Trevor Coe of the old story of a passenger arriving at a railway station with a tortoise. The ticket clerk delved into the manual of fares and regulations and announced that there would be no charge, since 鈥渄ogs is dogs, cats is dogs, but tortoises is insects鈥�.
On time buses
ONE Nottingham bus firm has its company logo on the back of each bus with the motto: 鈥淭here鈥檒l be one along in a minute!鈥� Just under this is another slogan saying 鈥淓very 6 or 7 minutes鈥�. How clever.
New Year competition
FINALLY, this is your last chance to send us your entries to our Feedback New Year鈥檚 Resolution competition. What offbeat project, described in a sentence or two, would make life in 2005 more fun in interesting or exciting ways? You can make your resolution for yourself or for science.
You may submit up to two entries by letter, fax or email. Please put 鈥淔eedback competition鈥� in the subject line or above the postal address. Thanks to the generosity of Penguin, 10 lucky winners will receive a bumper pack of books: Not On The Label by Felicity Lawrence, Reefer Madness by Eric Schlosser, Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser, Hegemony or Survival by Noam Chomsky, and So Shall We Reap by Colin Tudge. On top of this, thanks to the generosity of Jameson, the winners will also receive a bottle of Jameson鈥檚 ultra-smooth Irish whiskey.
The winning entries will be chosen for their wit and originality. All entries must reach Feedback by Monday 13 December. The winners will be announced in the 8 January issue. The editor鈥檚 decision is final.