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andywarno
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Aug 18, 2017
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TWSBI Eco, fine nib, Noodler's Heart of Darkness ink, Leuchtturm1917 paper
Aug 18, 2017
misterwould
16
Aug 18, 2017
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andywarnoNow I'm getting hung up on the math... but I think, statistically, that all two-armed folk are above the average. See, there are some with one or none that will pull the average ever so slightly down from two, and there are practically none that would pull the number up past two. The average number of arms per human is likely 1.999999999999991 or something, globally. Huh.
Aug 18, 2017
andywarno
35
Aug 18, 2017
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misterwouldYes exactly. It's just a thought provoking statement that, to me, has always made me chuckle. Math can be funny, sometimes.
The only mathematical way for the average number of arms in the world to be 2, is if every single person in the world has 2. And we know that there is some small quantity of people with less than two so therefore the average is some number less than 2.
Aug 18, 2017
misterwould
16
Aug 18, 2017
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andywarnoI did the math.  The average number of arms a person in the US has is 1.99996383.
If you want to quibble with my methods: Based on numbers from the CDC and the Amputee Coalition of America: 324,600,000 US population, and; No numbers represent anyone having greater than two arms, and; 129,840 born with upper limb reduction (~4/10,000 births, includes absent, malformed, or underdeveloped), and; 105,000 upper limb loss occurrences (very loose numbers, and might include surgical removal of birth defects), so the total is: ~234,840 have less than two arms.  Now reduce that by a factor of ten to be completely super safe. This should also compensate for those with more than two arms, which is presumably super rare? 23,484 is our number of less-than-twos, for 0.00723475046% of the US population. 324,576,516 is our number of twofers, for 99.99276525% of the US population. Let's say that our less-than-twos have an average of 1.5 arms. This is a high number, as it is assigning fractional value to the "upper limb reduction" births and partial amputations, and I have no stats on fractional arms. Let's not guess at fingers or quibble over how they're counted. Let's just agree that the average twofer has two, and the average less-that-two has 1.5. Please. That means that out of 100 people, if 0.00723475046 have 1.5 arms and 99.99276525 have two arms, then the average number of arms is 1.99996383.
Aug 18, 2017
andywarno
35
Aug 18, 2017
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Aug 18, 2017
misterwould
16
Aug 18, 2017
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andywarnoThanks! Now I've cross-posted there (since I didn't find a preexisting one - though I had stumbled upon this on /r/showerthoughts).
Aug 18, 2017
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