Instructive Misadventures When Calculating Election-Related Probabilities

This article describes an interesting error I committed in the course of my research in voting theory. While embarrassing, the error has led to productive discussions about mathematical failure with my students in my probability and statistics course. I describe my mistake and discuss how the incorporation of such mistakes into the classroom can enhance student trust and engagement.

Authors

Publication Details

Journal
The Mathematics Enthusiast
Published
2025-09-09
DOI
https://doi.org/10.54870/1551-3440.1689
Primary Topic
Statistics Education and Methodologies
Type
article
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Instructive Misadventures When Calculating Election-Related Probabilities

David McCune
The Mathematics Enthusiast
Statistics Education and Methodologies
article

Instructive Misadventures When Calculating Election-Related Probabilities

David McCune
article en

Abstract

This article describes an interesting error I committed in the course of my research in voting theory. While embarrassing, the error has led to productive discussions about mathematical failure with my students in my probability and statistics course. I describe my mistake and discuss how the incorporation of such mistakes into the classroom can enhance student trust and engagement.

The Mathematics EnthusiastVol. 23(3)
Openalex Percentile: Top 77%
Statistics Education and Methodologies
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Instructive Misadventures When Calculating Election-Related Probabilities — David McCune · The Mathematics Enthusiast (2025) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS