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The Science of Coincidence

Brian Cox and Robin Ince reveal the maths behind luck and coincidence with comedian Sophie Duker, and mathematicians Marcus Du Sautoy and David Spiegelhalter.

Are some people just lucky? Is there any scientific formula behind coincidences? Is randomness the norm? Brian and Robin team up with comedian Sophie Duker, mathematician Marcus Du Sautoy and statistician David Spiegelhalter to uncover the reality and the maths behind seemingly incredible coincidences. How many people do you need in a room to find two with the same birthday? What is the weirdest coincidence that the panel have ever encountered? Is there a mathematical formula to being lucky? How good are we at judging how likely something is to happen? The answer is not very, as Brian and Robin unluckily discover.

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Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem.

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43 minutes

Last on

Mon 20 Nov 2023 16:00

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  • Sat 18 Nov 2023 19:15
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