charlie@cca.UUCP (06/20/83)
My favorite error occurred in an episode where Kirk and Spock are stranded on what they think is a primitive planet at the outbreak of a war between the Federation and some enemy or other. When Kirk outlines his plan to assasinate the enemy leader, Spock estimates the chances of success at 735.4 to 1. Later, Kirk asks for their chances, and Spock replies "Less than 700 to one." Kirk comments that the odds are improving. Spock says "Yes, it was highly unlikely that we would have gotten as far as we have." Now, assuming "Less than 700 to one" implies somewhere between 600 and 700 (I think that's fair), probability theory dictates the odds of them getting as far as they did at between 81% and 95%. Such an event should not have been called "highly unlikely".