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How To Win A Coin Toss
How to Win a Coin Toss
http://www.wired.com/2010/11/st_cheatscience_cointoss/
IF YOU’RE LOOKING for a way to randomize your choices in a given dilemma, put away that quarter. It’s useless. (Sorry, Two-Face.) But if you’re trying to game the game, flip away — researchers at the University of British Columbia proved it can work. After an argument about how to divide patients randomly into groups for a clinical trial (some wanted to use a coin toss, others argued that coin tosses could be manipulated), they tested their theories on a group of medical residents. When given some basic pointers and five minutes of practice, the subjects could intentionally show heads as much as 68 percent of the time. Here’s how they beat randomness.
Do the flipping. You need to know which side of the coin starts faceup — you’ll be going for a specific number of flips. (This is why referees and umpires do the tossing in most sports, while team captains make the call.)
Practice. The trick is to flip the coin the same way every time, with the same force behind your thumb. Too many spins and it’s too difficult to repeat; too few and it doesn’t look fair. Three or four flips are ideal.
Be smart. If all else fails or you’re not the flipper, choose the side that starts facing up. The probability of a coin landing as it started is 51 percent. (As the coin flies, that side spends more time faceup.)
