Definition:Probability/Informal Definition
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Probability
The probability of an event is the likelihood that the event will occur (within a certain formally or informally understood context).
As such, a probability can range from $0$ (will never happen) to $1$ (is certain to happen).
Commonly, a probability is often stated in terms of a percentage.
Popular Treatment
Amongst the non-mathematically-literate of the world's population, a common form of rhetorical emphasis (usually used when asserting a falsehood of a personal and delicate nature) is to state a greater-than-$100 \%$ probability of an event.
A typical example of this could be seen on the Maury Povich Show, as follows:
- Euniquea: I am five hundred thousand percent certain that Twyvone is the father of mah bay-bee ...
- Maury Povich: Twyvone ... you are naaht the father.
Sources
- 1965: A.M. Arthurs: Probability Theory ... (previous) ... (next): Chapter $2$: Probability and Discrete Sample Spaces: $2.3$ Probabilities in discrete sample spaces
- 2014: Christopher Clapham and James Nicholson: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Mathematics (5th ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): probability