Oct 28, 2009 2:16pm
Was Gov. Schwarzenegger’s Letter Random? A Look at the Numbers…
EmailGovernor Arnold Schwarzenegger claims he didn't mean to spell out a certain four-letter-word in his veto letter to the California State Assembly. You can see the letter for yourself HERE (look closely down the left margin).
ABC’s Gary Langer crunched the numbers to see the likelihood that the phrase appeared unintentionally. His find? Read the full report HERE.
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I would say the odds are zero in infinity. Separating the letter into two paragraphs, each starting with capitals F and Y. And dont forget using the phrase “kicks the can down the alley” which doesn’t really fit into the sentence other than to make a k. Come on, it aint by chance. No way, no how.
Posted by: Obvious | October 28, 2009, 4:32 pm 4:32 pm
You guys are getting paranoid.
There are better things to worry about lately in case you haven’t noticed!!!
Posted by: Cindy Cary | October 28, 2009, 4:51 pm 4:51 pm
What an ingenious idea! Tell them how you really feel! HA I love it
Posted by: Mary | October 28, 2009, 5:20 pm 5:20 pm
GOOD JOB ARNOLD!!!!
Posted by: Rich | October 28, 2009, 6:34 pm 6:34 pm
When he get’s tired of being GOV of CAL he can come be GOV of INDIANA. We need someone who isn’t afraid to tell them like it is.
Posted by: Huntington | October 28, 2009, 7:45 pm 7:45 pm
Maybe he’ll realize the Democrats are not working with him afterall.
Posted by: Cal frustrated | October 28, 2009, 8:05 pm 8:05 pm
People are getting killed in Afghanistan and clowns are focusing on whether Arnold did something rather childish (if he did it at all) Come on.
Posted by: Too Many Stupid People | October 28, 2009, 9:51 pm 9:51 pm
I don’t even know or care what the bill was regarding, whether it was something I support or am against, but . . . HILARIOUS. Was it intentional? Probably. Will they be able to bust him on it definitively? Probably not. Should anyone waste the time, effort and money trying? Of course not, let it go, his point was made.
Posted by: iamwomaninMI | October 28, 2009, 10:03 pm 10:03 pm
your motherinlaw would love your clever ability to let them know what most voters want to say.Just do your job as professionals and quit wasting the people’s money bastards. you people are as disgusting as nasty pigossi,barbara boxer,dianne feintstein and just as ineffective as a dead TED
Posted by: earl | October 28, 2009, 10:51 pm 10:51 pm
ARNOLD I’LL BE THERE TO GREET YOU WITH WIT AND STILL BE SMARTER THAN YOU KINDERGARDENERS IN THE ASSEMBLY
Posted by: earl | October 28, 2009, 10:55 pm 10:55 pm
I must applaud the Governor for what must have taken him the greater part of an over-paid 8 hour day in the California Governors Office. Yet another political gem brought to you by a failed Republican Party.
Posted by: GrandOlePartyIsOver | October 29, 2009, 2:40 am 2:40 am
Sure, he didn’t mean to do that. Nor did he mean to grope women, either.
While I might agree with his sentiment, to blatantly hand out such a message is rather beneath the dignity of a governor. But then, I suspect he has no further political ambitions so probably doesn’t care.
Posted by: Slrman | October 29, 2009, 7:01 am 7:01 am
Without even worrying about upper and lower case, I made the same calculation in a comment on these boards yesterday which Gary Langer has plagiarized (just kidding – anyone with a statistics background knows the formula) in the link in this article. In yesterday’s comment I pointed out that, since there are 26 different letters, the chance of any particular letter appearing in the correct order seven consecutive times is:
1/26 x 1/26 x 1/26 x 1/26 x 1/26 x 1/26 x 1/26 = (1/26)^7 = 1/8,031,810,176 or, rounding, one chance in eight billion of it being random.
The actual odds are greater if you take into account the frequency of upper and lower case letters and the frequency with which Alnold’s veto messages have been exactly seven lines long. Since we don’t have information on those two pieces in information, my guess is that the actual odds are around one chance in a TRILLION!
Posted by: The_Mick | October 29, 2009, 10:48 am 10:48 am
YEAH ARNIE…. GOOD FOR YOU….
Posted by: MEEEEEEEEEEE | October 29, 2009, 12:18 pm 12:18 pm
Say it isn’t so, that is something a child would do. What happened to you Arnold.
Posted by: kitchen canisters | December 14, 2010, 8:20 am 8:20 am