* . *
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact
Saturday, October 25, 2025
Earth-News
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    CNN Launches New Show – What to Know About Host Elex Michaelson – Central Oregon Daily

    Get to Know Elex Michaelson: The Dynamic New Host Taking CNN by Storm

    Johnny Depp Set To Finally Make His Big Hollywood Comeback After Amber Heard Controversy – Yahoo

    Johnny Depp Set for a Triumphant Hollywood Comeback Following Amber Heard Controversy

    ‘Chainsaw Man — The Movie: Reze Arc’ Review: Hit Manga Gets an Ultra-Violent, Surprisingly Emotional Big-Screen Adaptation – Yahoo

    Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc Review: A Brutal and Unexpectedly Emotional Big-Screen Adaptation

    Reba McEntire Details Personal Relationship With Late Stepson Brandon Blackstock – KNDU

    Reba McEntire Shares Emotional Tribute to Her Late Stepson Brandon Blackstock

    Sacramento city leaders approve adding 2 entertainment zones in midtown – CBS News

    Sacramento City Leaders Approve Two Thrilling New Entertainment Zones in Midtown

    AMC brings first new Dolby Experience to Gwinnett since 2017 – Wyoming News Now

    AMC Launches First New Dolby Experience in Gwinnett Since 2017

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Ghost Tapping is exploiting tap-to-pay technology in order to steal your money; what your need to know – ABC7 New York

    Ghost Tapping: How Thieves Are Using Tap-to-Pay Technology to Steal Your Money and What You Need to Know

    New technology for grading and packing dates – FreshPlaza

    Revolutionary Technology Transforms Date Grading and Packing Process

    Project underway to upgrade technology on 911 towers in Kanawha County – WCHS

    Kanawha County Launches Major Upgrade to 911 Tower Technology

    Next steps: Technology opens new options for greater mobility – Missouri Independent

    Next Steps: How Technology is Opening Exciting New Doors to Greater Mobility

    Rydberg Technologies Inc. Announces Launch of Rydberg Photonics in Berlin – The Quantum Insider

    Rydberg Technologies Launches Exciting New Photonics Division in Berlin

    A look into new technology at Columbia University that could help prevent a dangerous pregnancy complication – ABC7 New York

    A look into new technology at Columbia University that could help prevent a dangerous pregnancy complication – ABC7 New York

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    CNN Launches New Show – What to Know About Host Elex Michaelson – Central Oregon Daily

    Get to Know Elex Michaelson: The Dynamic New Host Taking CNN by Storm

    Johnny Depp Set To Finally Make His Big Hollywood Comeback After Amber Heard Controversy – Yahoo

    Johnny Depp Set for a Triumphant Hollywood Comeback Following Amber Heard Controversy

    ‘Chainsaw Man — The Movie: Reze Arc’ Review: Hit Manga Gets an Ultra-Violent, Surprisingly Emotional Big-Screen Adaptation – Yahoo

    Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc Review: A Brutal and Unexpectedly Emotional Big-Screen Adaptation

    Reba McEntire Details Personal Relationship With Late Stepson Brandon Blackstock – KNDU

    Reba McEntire Shares Emotional Tribute to Her Late Stepson Brandon Blackstock

    Sacramento city leaders approve adding 2 entertainment zones in midtown – CBS News

    Sacramento City Leaders Approve Two Thrilling New Entertainment Zones in Midtown

    AMC brings first new Dolby Experience to Gwinnett since 2017 – Wyoming News Now

    AMC Launches First New Dolby Experience in Gwinnett Since 2017

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Ghost Tapping is exploiting tap-to-pay technology in order to steal your money; what your need to know – ABC7 New York

    Ghost Tapping: How Thieves Are Using Tap-to-Pay Technology to Steal Your Money and What You Need to Know

    New technology for grading and packing dates – FreshPlaza

    Revolutionary Technology Transforms Date Grading and Packing Process

    Project underway to upgrade technology on 911 towers in Kanawha County – WCHS

    Kanawha County Launches Major Upgrade to 911 Tower Technology

    Next steps: Technology opens new options for greater mobility – Missouri Independent

    Next Steps: How Technology is Opening Exciting New Doors to Greater Mobility

    Rydberg Technologies Inc. Announces Launch of Rydberg Photonics in Berlin – The Quantum Insider

    Rydberg Technologies Launches Exciting New Photonics Division in Berlin

    A look into new technology at Columbia University that could help prevent a dangerous pregnancy complication – ABC7 New York

    A look into new technology at Columbia University that could help prevent a dangerous pregnancy complication – ABC7 New York

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
Earth-News
No Result
View All Result
Home Science

Coin tosses are not 50/50: Researchers find a slight bias

October 23, 2023
in Science
Coin tosses are not 50/50: Researchers find a slight bias
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

For people committed to choosing either heads or tails every time, the researchers found no bias for either side

For people committed to choosing either heads or tails every time, the researchers found no bias for either side.

Want to get a slight edge during a coin toss? Check out which side is facing upwards before the coin is flipped –- then call that same side.

This tactic will win 50.8 percent of the time, according to researchers who conducted 350,757 coin flips.

For the preprint study, which was published on the arXiv database last week and has not yet been peer-reviewed, 48 people tossed coins of 46 different currencies.

They were told to flip the coins with their thumb and catch it in their hand—if the coins fell on a flat surface that could introduce other factors such as bouncing or spinning.

Frantisek Bartos, of the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, told AFP that the work was inspired by 2007 research led by Stanford University mathematician Persi Diaconis—who is also a former magician.

Diaconis’ model proposed that there was a “wobble” and a slight off-axis tilt that occurs when humans flip coins with their thumb, Bartos said.

Because of this bias, they proposed it would land on the side facing upwards when it was flipped 51 percent of the time—almost exactly the same figure borne out by Bartos’ research.

While that may not seem like a significant advantage, Bartos said it was more of an edge that casinos have against “optimal” blackjack players.

It does depend on the technique of the flipper. Some people had almost no bias while others had much more than 50.8 percent, Bartos said.

For people committed to choosing either heads or tails before every toss, there was no bias for either side, the researchers found.

None of the many different coins showed any sign of bias either.

Happily, achieving a fair coin flip is simple: just make sure the person calling heads or tails cannot see which side is facing up before the toss.

‘It’s fun to do stupid stuff’

Bartos first heard of the bias theory while studying Bayesian statistics during his master’s degree, and decided to test it on a massive scale.

But there was a problem: he needed people willing to toss a lot of coins.

At first he tried to persuade his friends to flip coins over the weekend while watching “Lord of the Rings”.

“But nobody was really down for that,” he said.

Eventually Bartos managed to convince some colleagues and students to flip coins whenever possible, during lunch breaks, even while on holiday.

“It will be terrible,” he told them. “But it’s fun to do some stupid stuff from time to time.”

The flippers even held weekend-long events where they tossed coins from 9am to 9pm. A massage gun was deployed to soothe sore shoulders.

Countless decisions have been made by coin tosses throughout human history.

While writing his paper, Bartos visited the British Museum and learned that the Wright brothers used one to determine who would attempt the first plane flight.

Coin tosses have also decided numerous political races, including a tied 2013 mayoral election in the Philippines.

But they are probably most common in the field of sport. During the current Cricket World Cup, coin tosses decide which side gets to choose whether to bat or field first.

More information:
František Bartoš et al, Fair coins tend to land on the same side they started: Evidence from 350,757 Flips, arXiv (2023). DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2310.04153

Journal information:
arXiv

© 2023 AFP

Citation:
Coin tosses are not 50/50: Researchers find a slight bias (2023, October 22)
retrieved 23 October 2023
from https://phys.org/news/2023-10-coin-tosses-slight-bias.html

This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no
part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : Phys.org – https://phys.org/news/2023-10-coin-tosses-slight-bias.html

Tags: Researcherssciencetosses
Previous Post

Back on the menu? Europeans once ate seaweed, research shows

Next Post

Keep or cull? Romania divided over its bear population

Nutritional supplements boost baby coral survival – EurekAlert!

How Nutritional Supplements Are Boosting Baby Coral Survival Rates

October 25, 2025
Scientists Are One Step Closer to Letting Humans ‘Breathe’ Through Their Butts – Yahoo

Scientists Are One Step Closer to Letting Humans ‘Breathe’ Through Their Butts – Yahoo

October 25, 2025
Bizarre Crystals in Titan’s Lakes Could Break a Fundamental Rule of Chemistry – ScienceAlert

Strange Crystals Found in Titan’s Lakes Challenge a Fundamental Chemistry Rule

October 25, 2025
Mortgage Rates Inch Toward 6% as Fed Weighs October Cut – IslanderNews.com

Mortgage Rates Surge Near 6% Amid Speculation of October Fed Rate Cut

October 25, 2025
Ghost Tapping is exploiting tap-to-pay technology in order to steal your money; what your need to know – ABC7 New York

Ghost Tapping: How Thieves Are Using Tap-to-Pay Technology to Steal Your Money and What You Need to Know

October 25, 2025
This Week in Sports Trivia: October 23, 2025 – The Athletic – The New York Times

Think You’re a Sports Expert? Take on This Week’s October 23, 2025 Trivia Challenge!

October 25, 2025
How to watch the 2025 MLB World Series: Dodgers vs. Blue Jays game schedule, channels, streaming, when is Shohei Ohtani starting and more – Yahoo Sports

Ultimate Guide to Watching the 2025 MLB World Series: Dodgers vs. Blue Jays Game Schedule, Channels, Streaming, and Shohei Ohtani’s Start Time

October 24, 2025
A circular economy approach for the global lithium-ion battery supply chain – Nature

Revolutionizing the Global Lithium-Ion Battery Supply Chain Through a Circular Economy Approach

October 24, 2025
CNN Launches New Show – What to Know About Host Elex Michaelson – Central Oregon Daily

Get to Know Elex Michaelson: The Dynamic New Host Taking CNN by Storm

October 24, 2025
Idaho Medicaid mental health contractor to cut doctor pay rates by 4%-15% – Idaho Capital Sun

Idaho Medicaid Mental Health Contractor to Cut Doctor Pay Rates by Up to 15%

October 24, 2025

Categories

Archives

October 2025
M T W T F S S
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031  
« Sep    
Earth-News.info

The Earth News is an independent English-language daily published Website from all around the World News

Browse by Category

  • Business (20,132)
  • Ecology (885)
  • Economy (906)
  • Entertainment (21,777)
  • General (17,790)
  • Health (9,947)
  • Lifestyle (919)
  • News (22,149)
  • People (907)
  • Politics (916)
  • Science (16,117)
  • Sports (21,406)
  • Technology (15,886)
  • World (889)

Recent News

Nutritional supplements boost baby coral survival – EurekAlert!

How Nutritional Supplements Are Boosting Baby Coral Survival Rates

October 25, 2025
Scientists Are One Step Closer to Letting Humans ‘Breathe’ Through Their Butts – Yahoo

Scientists Are One Step Closer to Letting Humans ‘Breathe’ Through Their Butts – Yahoo

October 25, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

Go to mobile version