07 Feb '16 08:41>
My opinion is this:
1. Probability is all about how frequently you expect an outcome that has a random component to give a particular result.
2. It is a trivial observation that if you take out the random component and make it deterministically always give a single result then the 'frequency' becomes either 'every single time' or 'never' depending on which result you are referring to.
3. One can therefore assign probability values of 1 and 0 to these results.
4. When laymen use the word probability in conjunction with the 1 and 0 values they may mean one of two things: either that it is deterministic or that there is an infinitesimal probability of one result.
5. I see no benefit to applying probability values to deterministic results as the result is trivial. All probability calculations will have a 1 or 0 and thus the result will trivially proceed as you carry out subsequent calculations.
6. The real focus of probability is in the open set (1,0).
7. I believe it is more useful to define probability as 'undefined' outside this range.
8. Probability can be applied to any situation real or imagined, whereas your definition appeared to be only about its application to the problem of knowledge of the real world. In addition your focus seemed to be on situations where the result is as close to 1 or 0 as possible ie you are focused on either logical proofs or experiments that yield exclusively one result to the point that you can reasonably rule out any other results as ever happening. It seems to me that probability theory has no place in either of the latter situations.
If you have a use for applying probability values of 1 and 0 to deterministic situations (or even static situations as is the case for logical statements) then I would be interested to know what that use is.
1. Probability is all about how frequently you expect an outcome that has a random component to give a particular result.
2. It is a trivial observation that if you take out the random component and make it deterministically always give a single result then the 'frequency' becomes either 'every single time' or 'never' depending on which result you are referring to.
3. One can therefore assign probability values of 1 and 0 to these results.
4. When laymen use the word probability in conjunction with the 1 and 0 values they may mean one of two things: either that it is deterministic or that there is an infinitesimal probability of one result.
5. I see no benefit to applying probability values to deterministic results as the result is trivial. All probability calculations will have a 1 or 0 and thus the result will trivially proceed as you carry out subsequent calculations.
6. The real focus of probability is in the open set (1,0).
7. I believe it is more useful to define probability as 'undefined' outside this range.
8. Probability can be applied to any situation real or imagined, whereas your definition appeared to be only about its application to the problem of knowledge of the real world. In addition your focus seemed to be on situations where the result is as close to 1 or 0 as possible ie you are focused on either logical proofs or experiments that yield exclusively one result to the point that you can reasonably rule out any other results as ever happening. It seems to me that probability theory has no place in either of the latter situations.
If you have a use for applying probability values of 1 and 0 to deterministic situations (or even static situations as is the case for logical statements) then I would be interested to know what that use is.