March 22, 2024

Randomness & Chance: Push It to the Limit

Featured speaker Erin Beckman, PhD, mathematician

Assistant Professor, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Utah State University 

Date

Friday, March 22, 2024

7 p.m. Eccles Science Learning Center,

Emert Auditorium, Room ESLC 130

Hands-on learning activities and refreshments follow the talk in the Eccles Science Learning Center atrium. 

Admission is free and all ages are welcome.

Directions and Parking Information

 

Talk Description

In probability theory, the Law of Large Numbers (LLN) is a theorem that describes the result of performing the same experiment a large number of times. It has a very central role in probability and statistics. If you repeat an experiment independently a bunch of times and average the result, what you get should be pretty close to the expected value.  

Another theorem, the Central Limit Theorem (CLT) states that the distribution of sample means approximates a normal distribution as the sample size gets larger. This theorem is useful, when you’re trying to analyze lots and lots of data. 

Using some simple examples, mathematician Erin Beckman will help us understand these theorems and how they can help us better understand the world around us.