The musical repair man

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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.

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

A few years ago my husband and I were joining a small party for a painting holiday in southern Spain. At Malaga airport we saw the luggage of some other members of our party being loaded into a taxi, but unfortunately the driver dropped a large white cello case as he tried to put it in the boot. On arrival at the house the owner of the cello (a world-renowned ballet choreographer who had taken up learning the cello and brought it with him to practice) examined the instrument, which was not damaged, but the bow was snapped, making playing impossible. At dinner that evening he was telling us about this mishap and another member of the party of 16 round the table said: “Perhaps I can help, I am a restorer of musical instruments!” The next day with the help of a tool box supplied by our host the bow was repaired – what are the chances of an expert of this calibre being present in a group of 16 random people?
Total votes: 223
Date submitted:Tue, 17 Jan 2012 11:53:37 +0000Coincidence ID:5336