Probability theory can help you make predictions about your data and see patterns.
A lot of statistics has its origins in probability theory, so knowing probability will take your statistics skills to the next level. Q: Why do I need to know about probability? I thought I was learning about statistics.Ī: There’s quite a close relationship between probability and statistics. Here are some examples on a probability scale. A lot of the time, you’ll be dealing with probabilities somewhere in between. If it’s an absolute certainty, then the probability is 1.
If an event is impossible, it has a probability of 0. Probability is measured on a scale of 0 to 1. In stats-speak, an event is any occurrence that has a probability attached to it-in other words, an event is any outcome where you can say how likely it is to occur. You can use it to indicate how likely an occurrence is (the probability that you’ll go to sleep some time this week), or how unlikely (the probability that a coyote will try to hit you with an anvil while you’re walking through the desert). Probability is a way of measuring the chance of something happening. Have you ever been in a situation where you’ve wondered “Now, what were the chances of that happening?” Perhaps a friend has phoned you at the exact moment you’ve been thinking about them, or maybe you’ve won some sort of raffle or lottery.
