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The last banana: A thought experiment in probability - Leonardo Barichello

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TEDEd Animation

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Imagine a game played with two players and two dice: if the biggest number rolled is one, two, three, or four, player 1 wins. If the biggest number rolled is five or six, player 2 wins. Who has the best probability of winning the game? Leonardo Barichello explains how probability holds the answer to this seemingly counterintuitive puzzle.

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Now, let's try to compute the probabilities for each player in this game. Get a piece of paper, and create a table just like the one in the video. Show every possible outcome for two dice. 1. How many cells are favorable to me? 2. How many cells are favorable to you? 3. Which player has a higher probability of winning a match in this game?

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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 Leo Barichello
  • Director Richard O'Connor
  • Animator Taisiya Zaretskaya, Marisha Falkovich
  • Script Editor Eleanor Nelsen
  • Narrator Addison Anderson

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