Cross continental meeting
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understandinguncertainty.org was produced by the Winton programme for the public understanding of risk based in the Statistical Laboratory in the University of Cambridge. The aim was to help improve the way that uncertainty and risk are discussed in society, and show how probability and statistics can be both useful and entertaining.
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In 1990, I was going through Maputo airport in Mocambique, on my way for 6 weeks leave, when I got into a brief conversation with a man behind me in the queue at security. We had never met before.
3 weeks later, I was entering Woolworths in Warminster, Wiltshire, (the only time I did during this leave period) and stood aside to allow someone to exit the door of the shop. We both did a double take and realized we had met before, briefly, as above.
It turned out he was travelling from his home in Wales to the south coast and had diverted from his direct route to buy sweets for his kids.
If either of us had arrived/left the shop 5 seconds earlier/later, we would not have met in the doorway.
What're the chances of that then?!
Cheers
Martin
Date submitted:Tue, 15 Dec 2015 21:32:44 +0000Coincidence ID:8340
