Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2010/iii/paper-36/1/g/solution

An alternative that allows small departures from chance, while assigning little probability to near-perfect prediction or near-perfect failure, is more plausible than a uniform prior distribution. For example, a symmetric beta distribution with is centered at , with
Choosing gives a prior standard deviation of about and concentrates on modest deviations. Its concentration should represent substantive beliefs specified before examining this experiment, rather than being tuned to the observed count. A continuous prior distribution centered at still places no point mass at ; the separate model prior probability supplies that mass.

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