I know that if I don't do it, the chances of some body else doing it is slim to none.

Only parts of us will ever touch only parts of others.

My house is small, but may heaven grant that it is never full of friends.

What is the probability that at least two people in a group of 20 people will have the same birthday?

It is very rare or almost impossible that an event can be negative from all points of view.

It’s Almost Impossible to Overinvest in Becoming the Market Leader.

I’d like anyone who was born on March 22nd to stand up.” Two students stand up. They link eyes from across the room, and smile. The room laughs. “Now, anyone born on June 14th.” Another two stand up. The room laughs again. “Now, anyone born on August 2nd.” Two more: the class is laughing at each pair, and re-examining their original takes on how low the probability was likely to be. They are learning through experience about human fallibility with estimating probabilities, and at the same time learning something about their classmates. “How about December 21st?” This time, three students stand up. This gets a big laugh for two reasons: firstly, it is unexpected, and secondly, it helps to ram home the idea that in a class that size (there are about 3,000 pairs in a class of 80), there are likely to be “coincidences” everywhere.

So little of what could happen does happen.

When the interval between the intellectual classes and the practical classes is too great, the former will possess no influence, the latter will reap no benefits.

Remember, in the tyranny of physical space, an audience too thinly spread is the same as no audience at all.

The chances that lose in the lottery of being are invisible

It is certain because it is impossible

My understanding is that it is virtually — not completely, but virtually — impossible to contract AIDS through heterosexual sex...very rarely [transmitted].

Probabilities without things are... nothings.