Curiosities About Chance
The curiosities about chance seem almost a redundancy, since chance itself has a good dose of mystery in it. It has been a subject that raises questions and to which all kinds of answers have been formulated, most of them magical.
However, one of the curiosities of chance is that the concept itself has given rise to far-reaching mathematical and scientific theories. Likewise, more than one invention or discovery has been the result of these surprising coincidences.
The curiosities about chance also have to do with that world of games and bets that so many people are captivated, to the point of making them lose their sanity. Casinos are full of surprising stories, legends, and facts. We will talk about all this right away.
Science and curiosities about chance
One of the curiosities about chance has to do with the fact that, throughout history, it has had a fertile connection with science. Even several theories and hypotheses have not been born in a laboratory or a desk, but in front of some game in which luck is tempted.
Without going too far, what is now known as “probability theory ” had its origin in something that we have all done at some time: playing dice. Gerolamo Cardano was an Italian doctor who was fond of these games. Since he did not like to lose, he decided to approach the matter mathematically. And there he accomplished two things: laying the foundations of the statistical concept of probability and bankrupting many contenders.
Something of the sort happened to Karl Pearson, a mathematician who was not a player. However, he was interested in random phenomena and devised a method to calculate them. One way to test whether your data was correct was to apply it to your roulette results. Back then, the daily Le Monaco published such results from the Monte Carlo casinos.
Good old Pearson was very frustrated. His method just didn’t work with those results. In everything else, yes. His studies provided the basis for the calculation of probabilities. You never learned that the lazy journalists at Le Monaco were making up the results for publication, rather than taking them from the correct source.
Gambling
Talking about the curiosities about chance is impossible without referring to the casinos, true temples in this matter. If one asks what is the gambling capital of the world, most would answer: “Las Vegas.” It is not true. Although this is iconic, the place where there is more space in the world dedicated to this matter is in Macao (China). Incidentally, it is the only place in that country where such games are legal.
When it comes to casinos, the image of roulette or blackjack usually comes to mind . However, the reality is not as it seems. From which of those games do casinos get their biggest income? None of them. Big money comes from small investments in slot machines, as even non-players try their luck at them.
Speaking of slot machines: they are not as harmless as they seem. The probability says that it is more possible to die crushed by one of them, than from the bite of a shark. Up to 20 people can die under one of those machines a year, while sharks are only lethal to 12 people in that same period.
More curiosities about chance
Chance gives birth to loves, deaths, glorious moments and also tragedies. Although it is always associated with good or bad luck, the truth is that it has more to do with mathematics than with invisible forces.
Despite this, fans of chance tend to rely much more on good fortune than on calculation. J. Talazac was the author of a book called the Secret Handbook of Gambling Luck . In it he collected tips to attract good luck such as: “Get a piece of footwear from a young woman who has accidentally died.”
Another of his advice pointed out: “You must play on the third Friday of the new moon, at the time of Jupiter and after sunset.” Then a slogan had to be written “with magic ink” and a viper’s head placed in the center of the writing. Whether it worked or not, who knows. For Talazac, it was sure to bring good luck. He sold thousands of copies of his book.
