The Birthday Paradox Explained

Here’s a paradox that breaks almost everyone’s intuition. It’s about birthdays. And probability. <break time="0.5s" />

Imagine a room with just 23 people. Not 100. Not 500. Just 23. <break time="0.5s" />

What are the odds that two people in that room share the same birthday? <break time="0.5s" /> The answer is…

Fifty percent. A coin toss. <break time="0.5s" /> Your brain rejects that. Because you compare

your birthday to 22 others. That’s not how probability works. <break time="0.5s" /> The math checks

pairs, not individuals. And in a group of 23, there are 253 unique

pairs. All possible combinations. <break time="0.5s" /> More pairs = more chances for a match.

Way more than your intuition expects. <break time="0.5s" /> 253 comparisons. Against 365 possible birthdays.