Next Door Neighbours
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.
In 1989 I was moving to NYC from rural Ireland to become a high school teacher. Just before I left I bumped into a cousin of mine in the nearby village. We chatted and, knowing I was going to NY, she said, in all seriousness, that maybe I would meet the cousin of her husband that lived in NYC. I sniggered internally at the absurdity of such a thing happening. Fast forward a couple of months and I was settled into life at the school when one of my new colleagues asked, 'Do you know someone called Anna in Ireland?' With the same internal sniggering I'd indulged in on the previous occasion I said, with some understatement, 'Well, that's a fairly common name in Ireland, do you know the surname?' upon which he replied, giving me my cousin's surname. I went all cold inside. It turned out that my new colleague and my cousin's husband's cousin were long-time next door neighbours. Subsequently, I visited with him and was taught never to be dismissive of such occurrences happening.
Date submitted:Fri, 20 Jul 2018 11:57:33 +0000Coincidence ID:10062
