* * * * *
                                        
                             Parents of mixed kids
                                        
As I was writing about the two kids problem [1], I realized I could have used
Smirk as an example, seeing how he has a new kid and all [2], but
unfortunately, I mentioned that his new kid was a boy, thus making the
chances of his other kid being a girl 50% (the reason: because you know yet
more information in this case than just one of his kids is a boy—you know
that his youngest is a boy, which removes both the girl/girl combination and
boy/girl combination, leaving just the girl/boy and boy/boy, for a 50% chance
of guessing correctly). 

And even so, I doubt it would have been a good example anyway, as he now has
two boys. 

And now that I think about it, my friend Lorie has two daughters (a 50/50
chance [inside joke between the two of us –Sean]; Spring [3] has two boys, my
friend Ken [4] has two daughters, and my friend Hoade has two daughters as
well. 

The only friend I can think of right now that has mixed kids is Bill, and he
had, in order, four boys and two girls. 

Heck, I can't think of anyone I know that has one boy and one girl. 

I wonder what the odds of that are … 

[1] gopher://gopher.conman.org/0Phlog:2009/01/05.1
[2] gopher://gopher.conman.org/0Phlog:2009/01/03.1
[3] http://www.springdew.com/
[4] http://kenmaier.com/

Email Sean Conner at sean@conman.org

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