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Check your intuition: The birthday problem - David Knuffke

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TEDEd Animation

Let’s Begin…

Imagine a group of people. How big do you think the group would have to be before there’s more than a 50% chance that two people in the group have the same birthday? The answer is … probably lower than you think. David Knuffke explains how the birthday problem exposes our often-poor intuition when it comes to probability.

The solution to the birthday problem shown in the video is just one way to solve it. Research some other solutions, describe the approaches they take. How does the answer using those approaches compare to the answer in this lesson?

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TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »

Meet The Creators

  • Educator David Knuffke
  • Director Biljana Labović
  • Script Editor Eleanor Nelsen
  • Animator Kaitlyn Carroll
  • Sound Designer Weston Fonger
  • Associate Producer Jessica Ruby
  • Content Producer Gerta Xhelo
  • Editorial Producer Alex Rosenthal
  • Narrator Addison Anderson

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