Question

During the Cold War, someone from the government asked a famous mathematics professor if he could help them figure out the probability of a nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union. The professor said, "That's an absurd question." Can you explain why he said that?

Answer 1

The question asked is absurd because to find the probability we should know the number of favorable cases and the total cases but in the given question "the probability of a nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union", we do not know the favorable cases and the total cases, therefore, it would be impossible to find the probability here.

The formula for finding the probability is:

`Probability = (favorable-cases)/(Total-cases)`

Therefore, the given question by the government is absurd.