Probability and Coincidence

     On page 26 of my copy of the latest New Yorker is a poem by Lia Purpura entitled "Probability."  In her brief poem Purpura renders with poetic power the astonishment each of us feels when meeting a long-ago classmate at an out-of-town super market or some other unexpected event.  Take time to follow the link and read this poem.
     Recently several friends have shared with me their amazement at unexpected coincidences and I have been tempted to illustrate -- perhaps with the birthday paradox --  how likely to happen unexpected events may be.

  With more than 23 persons in a room the chances are more than 50-50

 that two of them will share a birthday (same day, maybe different years).

Many websites offer explanation of this "birthday paradox" -- here is one.

The Joys of Mathematics

   The Joys of Mathematics     by Peter Boyle

   At fifty I will begin my count towards the infinite numbers.

   At negative ninety nine I will start my walk towards the
      infinitesimally small.

9 9-square stanzas

In the current (March 21, 2011) issue of The New Yorker (pages 46-47) may be found the poem "Green Farmhouse Chairs" by Donald Hall.  Hall's fine nostalgic poem consists of 9 stanzas; each stanza is "square" -- and has 9 lines with 9 syllables per line.   Enjoy!