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Can you solve the cursed dice riddle? - Dan Finkel

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Ah, spring. As Demeter, Goddess of the Harvest, it’s your favorite season. Humans and animals look to you to balance the bounty of the natural world which, like any self-respecting Goddess, you do with a pair of magical dice. But then, along comes the trickster god Loki, who invades your land and curses your dice. Can you fix the dice and keep the world in perfect harmony? Dan Finkel shows how.

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There are six possible outcomes when you roll each die, so the number of total possible outcomes is 6 × 6 = 36. However, the possible sums when you roll two dice are between 2 and 12. That’s eleven possible outcomes. So are there 11 outcomes or 36 outcomes when you roll a pair of dice? Explain how to resolve this apparent paradox.

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Meet The Creators

  • Educator Daniel Finkel
  • Director Igor Coric, Artrake Studio
  • Music Cem Misirlioglu
  • Sound Designer Cem Misirlioglu
  • Producer Anna Bechtol, Sazia Afrin
  • Editorial Director Alex Rosenthal

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