Law of Averages |

Your article, ‘No Deal’ by Peter Batten in the June/July issue, was of great interest to me as I have been studying the subject of coincidences since 1988.

Although everyone experiences coincidences, some people seem to experience them more than others. Mr Batten admits to having a chain of coincidences in his own life, which he sensibly puts down to shared interests, educational opportunities or friendships. He says, “surely a coincidence is just a coincidence?” He is very dismissive of the Law of Averages, probability theory and other scientific research. Many famous scientists agree with him, including Richard Dawkins. Stephen Hawking and Ian Stewart. Continue reading Coincidences →

Peter Batten is not amused . . .

Earlier this year the very popular television programme, “Deal or No Deal” vanished from our screens. This was a great relief for me. I was not a regular viewer, but I did see parts of the programme from time to time. Whenever I did I was made very angry by the behaviour of the presenter, Noel Edmonds. Over the years, he developed a very sly way of mocking the unfortunate contestants. To my amazement none of them seemed to realise, so they went on exchanging banter with “Good Old Noel”, while the slimy presenter was laughing up his sleeve at their “lucky” numbers and their game plans. It was a horrible performance.