A chance to say thanks & goodbye

As of the 23rd May 2022 this website is archived and will receive no further updates.

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.

Many of the animations were produced using Flash and will no longer work.

When I studied English at Worcester University my lecturer was a Mike B. He had a great style of teaching and everyone was very amused by his wry comments and sense of humour, so much so that some of his observations became a part of my character too. I told my wife this when we went on our honeymoon to Portugal some ten years later. The last weekend of the holiday we drove in our hire car down to Lisbon, and found a hotel on spec (no planning at all, it just looked nice). The next morning we went down for breakfast at 8am. I said jokingly to my wife that the man at the table across from us looked just like Mike B, "but he would look older now...". Curiosity got the better of me and eventually I asked him. "Did you use to lecture at Worcester Uni?" "I did" came the reply. "Are you Mike B?" I asked incredulous. "I am!" said the equally incredulous Mike B. He and his wife were on holiday too. We had dinner that night and swopped anecdotes (he was still as amusing as ever). He had retired years ago and this holiday was as spur of the moment as our choosing the hotel had been. I finally got the chance to thank him for having such an impact on my life and leaving me with an abiding love and knowledge of Shakepeare. A wonderful coincidence. Oh, and he dyed his hair!
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Date submitted:Fri, 13 Jan 2012 17:26:42 +0000Coincidence ID:3387