nononononononooooooooooooooooooooooo
i'm not saying there was a ghost. there are no ghosts. but "a wrong number" is too great a stretch when the other facts are taken into account. "coincidence" is a lazy word to explain what we can't be arsed to work out.
( rachelswipe with a fork, Mon 9 Dec 2013, 14:40, 1 reply, 11 years ago)

There are no other facts that are relevant, so nothing needs to be taken into account.
You are attaching an emotional meaning to something in which emotion has no relevance.

That number was stastically no less likely to wrong dial you than any other number. Do you think there's some deeper meaning to every wrong number you get? because any of them are equally as likely as that one.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Mon 9 Dec 2013, 14:45, Reply)

Y'know, I had a premonition you would say something like that.
Weird, eh?
( tangledupinblue hairy badge with moving eyes, Mon 9 Dec 2013, 14:47, Reply)

THAT CAN'T BE A COINCIDENCE

( MEATSNAKE Richard Hammond, Mon 9 Dec 2013, 14:47, Reply)

It's almost like you're psychic, eh?
On which note, Derek Acorah has been charged after crashing his car at the weekend. I really, really, hope that, as well as the drink driving, they charge him for "not seeing it coming"
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Mon 9 Dec 2013, 14:51, Reply)

I love how Most Haunted televised when they caught him out.
They fed him a name 'Creed Kafer' which was an anagram of Derek Faker. Not only did he come up with the name but he hilariously said it when he was "possessed" and yelled it out. CREEEEEEEEEEEED KAAAAAFERRRRRRR!

ilol'd
( GeordieJay Bummers are deaf, Mon 9 Dec 2013, 14:54, Reply)

No it isn't.

( tangledupinblue hairy badge with moving eyes, Mon 9 Dec 2013, 14:58, Reply)

It is if you read it on the internet and took it as fact.

( MEATSNAKE Richard Hammond, Mon 9 Dec 2013, 15:03, Reply)

Tell that to Yvette.

( GeordieJay Bummers are deaf, Mon 9 Dec 2013, 15:05, Reply)

*Kreed Kafer*

( GeordieJay Bummers are deaf, Mon 9 Dec 2013, 15:08, Reply)

His real name is Derek Johnson anyway. The whole thing is fake.

( GeordieJay Bummers are deaf, Mon 9 Dec 2013, 15:15, Reply)

surely the likelihood of getting a wrong number from a building that you know
has to be statistically smaller than all the other buildings in the world.

never mind the fact that nobody is in a non-boarding school at 5am...
( rachelswipe with a fork, Mon 9 Dec 2013, 15:01, Reply)

The odds go up dramatically if there is a ghost mum roaming the corridors though

( tangledupinblue hairy badge with moving eyes, Mon 9 Dec 2013, 15:04, Reply)

Erm, no. Not in the slightest.
OK, I'm not being patronising here, I swear, because this part of probability tends to confuse a lot of people, but the subset of phone numbers or buildings you do know (very small) vs the subset of phone numbers of buildings you don't (very large) has no bearing at all on those phone numbers calling you. It's just statistically irrelevant, assuming you assume that the call isn't meant for you. It simply comes down to the number, and each number has an equal chance of calling you. Same as each lottery ball has an equal chance of being drawn.

If the call WAS for you, of course, then the opposite of what you think is actually true, it's much more likely to come from a number of a building you do know, but that's not a straight probability question.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Mon 9 Dec 2013, 15:11, Reply)