Chance Didn’t Have to Be This Hard · Chapter 18

Waiting Time

The average wait is one divided by the chance per try, long waits are common, and nothing is ever “due”.

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Waiting for something with the same chance each try
A yearly chance over the years
Random arrivals
Collecting a set
Enter your numbers, then press Calculate.
From the book, Chapter 18. Waiting for a six: 6 rolls on average, but still waiting after 10 rolls 16.2% of the time; half the time it comes within 4. A “1-in-100-year” flood (1% a year) over 30 years: 26%; over 100 years 63.4%. Three calls an hour on average: no calls in 5% of hours, six or more in 8.4%. A set of six toys, one per box: 14.7 boxes on average, and only 27.2% within 10 boxes.

Exact arithmetic, worked the way the book shows. Everything stays in your browser: no sign-up, nothing stored or sent.