Odds Melania Trump's Speech Wasn't Plagiarized Are 1 In 87 Billion
- 8 years ago
Robert Rutledge, an astrophysicist, calculated the chances Melania Trump’s Republican National Convention speech wasn’t plagiarized and places them at 1 in 87 billion.
In the wake of Melania Trump’s Republican National Convention speech and its similarity in parts to an address given by Michelle Obama, some have come to Trump’s defense.
A common explanation involves the English language consisting of a finite number of words and ways of arranging them, notes.
Robert Rutledge, an astrophysicist, calculated the probability of such chance, and places them at 1 in 87 billion, notes the Huffington Post.
He selected 14 distinct phrases including, “work hard for what you want in life,” "do what you say," "your dreams," and "willingness to work for them" then applied what he regards as simple calculus.
According to the math, those phrases could have been arranged in 87 billion different ways.
Rutledge further notes, “If there were only 13 distinct phrases, instead of 14, the chances drop from 1 in 87 billion to 1 in 6.2 billion, and in no way alters the conclusion, and remains astronomically unlikely.”
Overall, he calls the situation ‘sad.’
In the wake of Melania Trump’s Republican National Convention speech and its similarity in parts to an address given by Michelle Obama, some have come to Trump’s defense.
A common explanation involves the English language consisting of a finite number of words and ways of arranging them, notes.
Robert Rutledge, an astrophysicist, calculated the probability of such chance, and places them at 1 in 87 billion, notes the Huffington Post.
He selected 14 distinct phrases including, “work hard for what you want in life,” "do what you say," "your dreams," and "willingness to work for them" then applied what he regards as simple calculus.
According to the math, those phrases could have been arranged in 87 billion different ways.
Rutledge further notes, “If there were only 13 distinct phrases, instead of 14, the chances drop from 1 in 87 billion to 1 in 6.2 billion, and in no way alters the conclusion, and remains astronomically unlikely.”
Overall, he calls the situation ‘sad.’