Max Can't Help It!
2 min readJan 23, 2022

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First, I'm trying to encourage you; sorry if it comes across differently.

Ezra Pound has probably expressed what I was getting at better:

A post-graduate student equipped with honours and diplomas went to Agassiz to receive the final and finishing touches.
The great man offered him a small fish and told him to describe it.
Post-Graduate Student: “That’s only a sun-fish”
Agassiz: “I know that. Write a description of it.”
After a few minutes the student returned with the description of the Ichthus Heliodiplodokus, or whatever term is used to conceal the common sunfish from vulgar knowledge, family of Heliichterinkus, etc., as found in textbooks of the subject.
Agassiz again told the student to describe the fish.
The student produced a four-page essay.
Agassiz then told him to look at the fish. At the end of the three weeks the fish was in an advanced state of decomposition, but the student knew something about it.”

I don’t have a belief about what probability “really is”. What’s interesting to me is how little humans use the most basic, intuitive, principles of probability. For example, catching Covid outside. Instead of looking at the outcome of outdoor events (low Covid infections) they chose to believe there was large infections outside because the people outside were Trump supporters, or whatever. Or take the number of people who won’t get the vaccination. They say nothing when they get a shot for the Measles but Covid, it’s a plan by Bill Gates, or whatever?

Probability is scary to most people. Again, most avoid it. We’re all going to die. Maybe we just don’t want to know. What’s the probability that most people will use probability in their lives… not significant ;)

Like the story above, you have many technical terms for different types of probability. Go try to get someone to change their behavior based on any one of them and get back to me. Maybe you can do what I can’t! HAHA

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Max Can't Help It!
Max Can't Help It!

Written by Max Can't Help It!

Trying to connect what hasn't been connected.

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