The probability of an infinite sequence of heads is zero
Abstract Williamson (2007) has given a celebrated isomorphism or translation-invariance argument that an infinite sequence of heads should have zero probability. However, infinitesimalists who hold that such a sequence has non-zero infinitesimal probability are very likely to deny the translation-invariance (e.g., Weintraub, 2008). Thus, we give two new arguments that an infinite sequence of heads has zero probability, without relying on the full translation-invariance thesis. We also show that two of our arguments extend to the setting of primitive conditional probabilities such as Popper functions and to total comparative probabilities.
Authors
- Alexander R. Pruss (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0069-532X)
Institutions
- Baylor University (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Philosophical Studies
- Published
- 2026-11-07
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s11098-026-02655-2
- Primary Topic
- Epistemology, Ethics, and Metaphysics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00