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Almost Surely
In probability theory, an event is said to happen almost surely (sometimes abbreviated as a.s.) if it happens with probability 1 (or Lebesgue measure 1). In other words, the set of possible exceptions may be non-empty, but it has probability 0. The concept is analogous to the concept of "almost everywhere" in measure theory. In probability experiments on a finite sample space, there is no difference between ''almost surely'' and ''surely'' (since having a probability of 1 often entails including all the sample points). However, this distinction becomes important when the sample space is an infinite set, because an infinite set can have non-empty subsets of probability 0. Some examples of the use of this concept include the strong and uniform versions of the law of large numbers, and the continuity of the paths of Brownian motion. The terms almost certainly (a.c.) and almost always (a.a.) are also used. Almost never describes the opposite of ''almost surely'': an event that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Probability Theory
Probability theory is the branch of mathematics concerned with probability. Although there are several different probability interpretations, probability theory treats the concept in a rigorous mathematical manner by expressing it through a set of axioms. Typically these axioms formalise probability in terms of a probability space, which assigns a measure taking values between 0 and 1, termed the probability measure, to a set of outcomes called the sample space. Any specified subset of the sample space is called an event. Central subjects in probability theory include discrete and continuous random variables, probability distributions, and stochastic processes (which provide mathematical abstractions of non-deterministic or uncertain processes or measured quantities that may either be single occurrences or evolve over time in a random fashion). Although it is not possible to perfectly predict random events, much can be said about their behavior. Two major results in probab ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prime Number Theorem
In mathematics, the prime number theorem (PNT) describes the asymptotic distribution of the prime numbers among the positive integers. It formalizes the intuitive idea that primes become less common as they become larger by precisely quantifying the rate at which this occurs. The theorem was proved independently by Jacques Hadamard and Charles Jean de la Vallée Poussin in 1896 using ideas introduced by Bernhard Riemann (in particular, the Riemann zeta function). The first such distribution found is , where is the prime-counting function (the number of primes less than or equal to ''N'') and is the natural logarithm of . This means that for large enough , the probability that a random integer not greater than is prime is very close to . Consequently, a random integer with at most digits (for large enough ) is about half as likely to be prime as a random integer with at most digits. For example, among the positive integers of at most 1000 digits, about one in 2300 is prim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Mathematical Jargon
The language of mathematics has a vast vocabulary of specialist and technical terms. It also has a certain amount of jargon: commonly used phrases which are part of the culture of mathematics, rather than of the subject. Jargon often appears in lectures, and sometimes in print, as informal shorthand for rigorous arguments or precise ideas. Much of this is common English, but with a specific non-obvious meaning when used in a mathematical sense. Some phrases, like "in general", appear below in more than one section. Philosophy of mathematics ; abstract nonsense:A tongue-in-cheek reference to category theory, using which one can employ arguments that establish a (possibly concrete) result without reference to any specifics of the present problem. For that reason, it's also known as ''general abstract nonsense'' or ''generalized abstract nonsense''. ; canonical:A reference to a standard or choice-free presentation of some mathematical object (e.g., canonical map, canonical fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Infinite Monkey Theorem
The infinite monkey theorem states that a monkey hitting keys at random on a typewriter keyboard for an infinite amount of time will almost surely type any given text, such as the complete works of William Shakespeare. In fact, the monkey would almost surely type every possible finite text an infinite number of times. However, the probability that monkeys filling the entire observable universe would type a single complete work, such as Shakespeare's ''Hamlet'', is so tiny that the chance of it occurring during a period of time hundreds of thousands of orders of magnitude longer than the age of the universe is ''extremely'' low (but technically not zero). The theorem can be generalized to state that any sequence of events which has a non-zero probability of happening will almost certainly eventually occur, given enough time. In this context, "almost surely" is a mathematical term meaning the event happens with probability 1, and the "monkey" is not an actual monkey, but a metapho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Degenerate Distribution
In mathematics, a degenerate distribution is, according to some, a probability distribution in a space with support only on a manifold of lower dimension, and according to others a distribution with support only at a single point. By the latter definition, it is a deterministic distribution and takes only a single value. Examples include a two-headed coin and rolling a die whose sides all show the same number. This distribution satisfies the definition of "random variable" even though it does not appear random in the everyday sense of the word; hence it is considered degenerate. In the case of a real-valued random variable, the degenerate distribution is a one-point distribution, localized at a point ''k''0 on the real line. The probability mass function equals 1 at this point and 0 elsewhere. The degenerate univariate distribution can be viewed as the limiting case of a continuous distribution whose variance goes to 0 causing the probability density function to be a delta fu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cromwell's Rule
Cromwell's rule, named by statistician Dennis Lindley, states that the use of prior probabilities of 1 ("the event will definitely occur") or 0 ("the event will definitely not occur") should be avoided, except when applied to statements that are logically true or false, such as 2+2 equaling 4 or 5. The reference is to Oliver Cromwell, who wrote to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland on 3 August 1650, shortly before the Battle of Dunbar, including a phrase that has become well known and frequently quoted: As Lindley puts it, assigning a probability should "leave a little probability for the moon being made of green cheese; it can be as small as 1 in a million, but have it there since otherwise an army of astronauts returning with samples of the said cheese will leave you unmoved." Similarly, in assessing the likelihood that tossing a coin will result in either a head or a tail facing upwards, there is a possibility, albeit remote, that the coin will land on its edg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Convergence Of Random Variables
In probability theory, there exist several different notions of convergence of random variables. The convergence of sequences of random variables to some limit random variable is an important concept in probability theory, and its applications to statistics and stochastic processes. The same concepts are known in more general mathematics as stochastic convergence and they formalize the idea that a sequence of essentially random or unpredictable events can sometimes be expected to settle down into a behavior that is essentially unchanging when items far enough into the sequence are studied. The different possible notions of convergence relate to how such a behavior can be characterized: two readily understood behaviors are that the sequence eventually takes a constant value, and that values in the sequence continue to change but can be described by an unchanging probability distribution. Background "Stochastic convergence" formalizes the idea that a sequence of essentially random or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Almost Everywhere
In measure theory (a branch of mathematical analysis), a property holds almost everywhere if, in a technical sense, the set for which the property holds takes up nearly all possibilities. The notion of "almost everywhere" is a companion notion to the concept of measure zero, and is analogous to the notion of ''almost surely'' in probability theory. More specifically, a property holds almost everywhere if it holds for all elements in a set except a subset of measure zero, or equivalently, if the set of elements for which the property holds is conull. In cases where the measure is not complete, it is sufficient that the set be contained within a set of measure zero. When discussing sets of real numbers, the Lebesgue measure is usually assumed unless otherwise stated. The term ''almost everywhere'' is abbreviated ''a.e.''; in older literature ''p.p.'' is used, to stand for the equivalent French language phrase ''presque partout''. A set with full measure is one whose complement i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Almost
In set theory, when dealing with sets of infinite size, the term almost or nearly is used to refer to all but a negligible amount of elements in the set. The notion of "negligible" depends on the context, and may mean "of measure zero" (in a measure space), "finite" (when infinite sets are involved), or "countable" (when uncountably infinite sets are involved). For example: *The set S = \ is almost \mathbb for any k in \mathbb, because only finitely many natural numbers are less than ''k''. *The set of prime numbers is not almost \mathbb, because there are infinitely many natural numbers that are not prime numbers. *The set of transcendental numbers are almost \mathbb, because the algebraic real numbers form a countable subset of the set of real numbers (which is uncountable). *The Cantor set is uncountably infinite, but has Lebesgue measure zero. So almost all real numbers in (0, 1) are members of the complement of the Cantor set. See also *Almost all *Almost surely ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Almost All
In mathematics, the term "almost all" means "all but a negligible amount". More precisely, if X is a set, "almost all elements of X" means "all elements of X but those in a negligible subset of X". The meaning of "negligible" depends on the mathematical context; for instance, it can mean finite, countable, or null. In contrast, "almost no" means "a negligible amount"; that is, "almost no elements of X" means "a negligible amount of elements of X". Meanings in different areas of mathematics Prevalent meaning Throughout mathematics, "almost all" is sometimes used to mean "all (elements of an infinite set) but finitely many". This use occurs in philosophy as well. Similarly, "almost all" can mean "all (elements of an uncountable set) but countably many". Examples: * Almost all positive integers are greater than 1012. * Almost all prime numbers are odd (2 is the only exception). * Almost all polyhedra are irregular (as there are only nine exceptions: the five platonic solids ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Number Theory
Number theory (or arithmetic or higher arithmetic in older usage) is a branch of pure mathematics devoted primarily to the study of the integers and integer-valued functions. German mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777–1855) said, "Mathematics is the queen of the sciences—and number theory is the queen of mathematics."German original: "Die Mathematik ist die Königin der Wissenschaften, und die Arithmetik ist die Königin der Mathematik." Number theorists study prime numbers as well as the properties of mathematical objects made out of integers (for example, rational numbers) or defined as generalizations of the integers (for example, algebraic integers). Integers can be considered either in themselves or as solutions to equations (Diophantine geometry). Questions in number theory are often best understood through the study of analytical objects (for example, the Riemann zeta function) that encode properties of the integers, primes or other number-theoretic object ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Erdős–Rényi Model
In the mathematical field of graph theory, the Erdős–Rényi model is either of two closely related models for generating random graphs or the evolution of a random network. They are named after Hungarian mathematicians Paul Erdős and Alfréd Rényi, who first introduced one of the models in 1959, while Edgar Gilbert introduced the other model contemporaneously and independently of Erdős and Rényi. In the model of Erdős and Rényi, all graphs on a fixed vertex set with a fixed number of edges are equally likely; in the model introduced by Gilbert, also called the Erdős–Rényi–Gilbert model, each edge has a fixed probability of being present or absent, independently of the other edges. These models can be used in the probabilistic method to prove the existence of graphs satisfying various properties, or to provide a rigorous definition of what it means for a property to hold for almost all graphs. Definition There are two closely related variants of the Erdős– ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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