They have been used to study probability so I thought you maths folks would know.
You put a marble in the top and it can either fall left or right. If the marble went right it can fall right again or fall back to the centre. If, however it fell left first time it can now fall further to the left or fall back to the centre. And so it goes on.
After several layers the marbles are collected and a probability distribution can be observed.
The reason I am so interested to know is because some scientist used one to study the effect of experimentor bias on out come.
He asked subjects to will the ball to the left or right and remarkably the distribution did indeed go where they willed it to.
2007-07-28 23:36:12 · 2 answers · asked by tuthutop 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Mathematics
I believe the distribution is binomial.©
Edit: to complete the parameters:
n+1 will be the number of slots at the lowest row.
p = ½
2007-07-28 23:48:49 · answer #1 · answered by Alam Ko Iyan 7 · 1⤊ 6⤋
The original experiment was done by James Bernoulli. The boards are often referred to as a Bernoulli or probability board.
Investigators in the field of telekinetics has observed non-binomial distributions. Similar results have been observed with experiments involving flipping coins.
2007-07-29 06:51:40 · answer #2 · answered by Richard 7 · 6⤊ 0⤋