HANDS:
hands
hands title:
§36. Probability Theory
hands date:
1 September 2026
hands text:
The lot is cast into the lap;
but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord.
but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord.
01
Probability theory is our way of dealing with something we don’t understand.
02
As far as first aid is concerned, I am completely helpless. The best I can do is call an ambulance. And, strangely enough, in my more than fifty years I don’t remember anyone ever needing medical help in my presence.
03
My wife, on the other hand, is a nurse. And a very good one. Around her, people get into trouble with remarkable regularity. I can easily count several instances in just the last few months when someone has collapsed, been injured or had some sort of accident while she was around.
04
Yesterday, for instance, she was having a coffee on Princes Street when a man collapsed quite literally next to her table. The ambulance said they were busy and would come when they could. Had the man collapsed just a few metres away, around the corner, he might well have died.
05
How does that work mathematically?