Among dozens of smaller talks on the logic of puzzles and games, some are whimsical (a problem about Cookie Monster stealing cookies from jars), others potentially useful (a formula to measure the difficulty of crosswords) and yet others dead serious (an algorithm to weigh the odds of surviving a duel with multiple shooters, by a professor from Kentucky).
Before posting anything online, I always weigh the odds to decide if my insight is worth the harassment.
Taken in this context, one has to weigh the cost of prematurely ending a protocol and possibly jeopardizing five years of citizen investment in a current research discovery against killing off career paths and future ideas for generations to come - just like a poker player needs to weigh the odds of his hand becoming a winner with more bets.
He became intrigued after weighing the odds and cost of getting a parking ticket, and deciding to risk it.
As the minutes went by and Hammons failed to appear (it turned out that he was waiting for me at another Starbucks, across the square), I weighed the odds that I was being treated to a custom-designed artwork.
Intractable conflicts of this kind frequently need an even-handed mediator who addresses complaints, weighs the odds and options, and proposes terms on which adversaries might be persuaded and pressured into agreement.
But digging deeper, beyond the national numbers, reveals at least a few glimmers of hope for Democrats — still fairly distant and faint, but bright enough to get campaign strategists scanning the horizon and weighing the odds.
Ever pragmatic, the lords of the realm weighed the odds and negotiated a deal: Stephen could quietly live out his years of kingship; subsequently, Matilda's clever, forceful son would succeed him on the throne.
LONDON — James Konrad, a bookish 27-year-old with a polite manner, used to make a living at a sports betting company, weighing the odds of muddy terrain affecting the sure-footedness of racehorses.
Weighing the odds, Williamson decided to mediate with Watson, and in August Dynegy agreed to pay him $22 million plus interest and legal fees.
Experts from both parties are busy weighing the odds and mapping out legal strategy, and of course recruiting candidates.
