Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 12, 2025

Measuring the Subjective Value of Risky and Ambiguous Options using Experimental Economics and Functional MRI Methods
Published on: September 19, 2012
How NOT to build an infinite lottery machine
1Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh, USA.
Designing an infinite lottery machine with standard randomizers fails due to the lack of constructive methods for probabilistically non-measurable sets. Such machines offer readable results with zero probability or inaccessible results with non-zero probability.
Area of Science:
- Mathematics
- Probability Theory
- Set Theory
Background:
- Efforts to create infinite lottery machines using standard probabilistic randomizers have consistently failed.
- The core issue relates to the constructive definition of probabilistically non-measurable sets.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the fundamental reasons behind the failure of infinite lottery machine designs.
- To explore the implications of non-measurable sets in the context of probabilistic systems.
Main Methods:
- Examination of existing theoretical frameworks for probabilistic randomizers.
- Analysis of set theory principles, specifically concerning measurable and non-measurable sets.
- Theoretical exploration of the accessibility of results in infinite probabilistic processes.
Main Results:
- The failure is attributed to the absence of constructive methods for probabilistically non-measurable sets.
- Infinite lottery machine designs face a dichotomy: accessible results with probability zero, or inaccessible results with probability greater than zero.
Conclusions:
- Constructing an infinite lottery machine with ordinary randomizers is theoretically impossible under current mathematical frameworks.
- The problem highlights inherent limitations in defining and accessing outcomes in certain infinite probabilistic systems.
More Related Videos
08:24The Joint Effect of Social Comparison and Social Distance on Evaluation of Intertemporal Choice Outcomes in Event-related Potential Studies
Published on: August 25, 2023
09:40Measuring Neural and Behavioral Activity During Ongoing Computerized Social Interactions: An Examination of Event-Related Brain Potentials
Published on: November 15, 2014
Related Concept Videos
Bias
In statistics, a sampling bias is created when a sample is collected from a population, and some members of the population are not as likely to be chosen as others (remember, each member...
Randomized Experiments
Simple randomization
Simple...
Random Sampling Method
Random Variables
Uppercase letters such as X or Y denote a random variable. Lowercase letters like x or y denote the value of a random variable. If X is a random variable, then X is written in words, and x is given as a number.
For example, let X = the...
Probability Laws
Pascal's Law