Retro

How many times have I called upon the wisdom of the Magic Eight Ball? 

I'd ask, but it only responds to yes or no queries. I wondered only because the 8-Ball appeared in a chapter book Benjy and I are reading. This is one hard concept to explain to a kid who has a DSi and Wii and knows nothing of floating dies in liquid dye.

Curious, I googled the clairvoyant of my youth. Did you know that there are 20 answers inside that ball? I had no idea.

Wikipedia lists them:

● It is certain

● It is decidedly so

● Without a doubt

● Yes – definitely

● You may rely on it

● As I see it, yes

● Most likely

● Outlook good

● Signs point to yes

● Yes

● Reply hazy, try again

● Ask again later

● Better not tell you now

● Cannot predict now

● Concentrate and ask again

● Don't count on it

● My reply is no

● My sources say no

● Outlook not so good

● Very doubtful

 

 

And now, for a mathematical connection (brought to you by Wikipedia), because I thought it was interesting, and therefore, you should, too:

 

10 of the possible answers are affirmative (●), 5 are negative (●), and 5 are non-committal (●). Using the Coupon collector's problem in probability theory, it can be shown that it takes, on average, 72^[3] questions of the Magic Eight Ball for all 20 of its answers to appear at least once.

My question tonight:

Will I be able to get up at 6 a.m. AND get to work on time tomorrow, the first day after spring break?

Answer:

very doubtful

I'll let you know how it really goes down.