Text for review

[musicgold]

Hi,

Can you please review the following text for grammatical and punctuation errors? Thanks. MG.

I am reading a book that explains the mathematics behind coincidences experienced in our daily lives. In one example, the author derives that the chance that you will at least once experience one of a set of 100 rare events (each with a one-in-million chance of occurring on any day) in a period of 20 years is as high as 52%. I understand this part completely.

What stumps me is the author’s following comment: It means that for every 20 people you know, there is a greater than 50% chance that one of them will have an amazing story to tell during the course of a year.

My questions are:
1. Is the author using the 1 of 20 phrase, to indicate a 95% confidence interval (19 out of 20 times)?

2. How the author expects one of a group of 20 to experience a coincidence in a year’s time?

Thanks,

MG

[peterbireland]

{Not a teacher}
Hi MG, your paragraph is very well written. I would suggest one ammendment "the author derives that the chance that you will experience, at least once, one of a set of 100 rare events". The commas aren't strictly necessary, but they can improve the flow of the sentence and avoid any misunderstandings.
Hope this helps.
Peter

[Anglika]

hi,

can you please review the following text for grammatical and punctuation errors? Thanks. Mg.

i am reading a book that explains the mathematics behind coincidences experienced in our daily lives. In one example, the author derives that posits the chance that you will at least once experience one of a set of 100 rare events (each with a one-in-million chance of occurring on any day) in a period of 20 years is as high as 52%. I understand this part completely.

what stumps me is the author’s following comment: It means that for every 20 people you know, there is a greater than 50% chance that one of them will have an amazing story to tell during the course of a year.

my questions are:
1. Is the author using the 1 of 20 phrase to indicate a 95% confidence interval (19 out of 20 times)?

2. How the author expects one of a group of 20 to experience a coincidence in a year’s time? do you mean "within a/the year"?

thanks,

mg

00

[musicgold]

Anglika,

Thanks.

1. I don't understand your first correction : posits.

2. By 'in a year's time' I meant within a year.

[Anglika]

Anglika,

Thanks.

1. I don't understand your first correction : posits.

2. By 'in a year's time' I meant within a year.

#1 To posit something = put forward as fact or as a basis for argument, which is what seems to be happening in this sentence.

#2 In that case, say "within"; "in a year's time" implies after a year is over.