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When a person's latent slope has normal distribution $N({\beta }_1,{\tau }_1^2)$, its $u$th quantile is ${\beta }_1+{\tau }_1{\Phi }^{-1}(u)$. Multiply by an elapsed time to obtain the corresponding latent change quantile. This describes population variation between people; it is distinct from a confidence interval for the mean slope and from a prediction interval that includes measurement error.

Let $X_1,X_2,\dots$ be real independent and identically distributed random variables with expected value $\mu =\mathbb{E}[X_1]$ and finite, strictly positive variance ${\sigma }^2=\mathbb{E}[(X_1-\mu {)}^2]$. Write $S_n={\sum }_{j=1}^n{X}_j$ and ${\overline{X}}_n=S_n/n$ for their sum and sample mean. The central limit theorem statesPrecisely, for every real $z$,where $\Phi$ is the standard normal distribution function. The conclusion is convergence in distribution to the standard normal distribution. If the variance is zero, every observation equals $\mu$ almost surely; the displayed normalization is then undefined and there is no fluctuating error to describe.

The striking feature is that the observations need not have a normal distribution. They may be binary, bounded, or strongly skewed. Their detailed probability distribution disappears from this limit except through the expected value and variance. The subtraction removes predictable growth: $\mathbb{E}[S_n]=n\mu$. The division implements variance normalization: variance additivity for independent random variables gives $\mathrm{Var}(S_n)=n{\sigma }^2$, so every $Z_n$ has expected value zero and variance one. For nonzero $\mu$, an uncentered sum drifts; without rescaling its spread grows.

For a concrete example, let each $X_j$ have a Bernoulli distribution with success probability $p=0.2$. Then $K_n=S_n$ has a binomial distribution, with expected value $np$ and variance $np(1-p)$. Its exact probability mass function and its normalized count areHere $\left(\genfrac{}{}{0ex}{}{n}{k}\right)$ is a binomial coefficient. Individual trials are conspicuously skewed, yet their centered, rescaled counts approach the same standard normal distribution as sums of fair trials.

At $n=100$, $K_n$ has expected value $20$ and standard deviation $4$. The exact binomial distribution gives $\mathbb{P}(16\le K_n\le 24)=0.740141\dots$. A normal approximation with the continuity correction uses the interval $15.5$ to $24.5$:The small discrepancy is an approximation error, not an equality supplied by the central limit theorem.

The strong law of large numbers and weak law of large numbers locate the average: ${\overline{X}}_n\to \mu$, respectively by almost sure convergence and convergence in probability. The central limit theorem magnifies that shrinking error and describes its shape. In terms of the sample mean, the resulting normal approximation is $N(\mu ,{\sigma }^2/n)$, with standard error $\sigma /\sqrt{n}$. This explains why four times as many independent observations halve the standard error. When $\sigma$ is known, ${\overline{X}}_n\pm 1.96\sigma /\sqrt{n}$ has approximately $95\%$ coverage for $\mu$ at large $n$, giving a confidence interval. This coverage refers to repeated samples, not a guarantee for an individual interval.

A useful application is the Monte Carlo method: estimate a success probability by the proportion of successful simulated trials. Nicholas Metropolis and S. Ulam's original paper, "The Monte Carlo Method" (1949), illustrates this with games of solitaire and estimation of a region's volume by randomly selected points, and discusses why estimates require probabilistic error control. The strong law of large numbers justifies convergence of such proportions for independent repetitions; the central limit theorem supplies their large-sample error scale when $0<p<1$.^[ref]

There are three useful limits to this picture:

A historical original-paper reference is J. W. Lindeberg's "Eine neue Herleitung des Exponentialgesetzes in der Wahrscheinlichkeitsrechnung" (1922), published in Mathematische Zeitschrift 15, pp. 211–225. The Lindeberg condition and Lindeberg-Feller central limit theorem below describe a version for sums whose summands need not share a probability distribution.^[ref]

A brief proof outline uses the characteristic function of $Y=(X_1-\mu )/\sigma$. Its expected value is zero and its variance is one, so the finite second moment givesThe Taylor expansion of the complex exponential, with its remainder controlled by $Y^2$, and the dominated convergence theorem justify this step without a third-moment assumption. Independence then gives the characteristic function of $Z_n$:The limit is the characteristic function of the standard normal distribution; the Lévy continuity theorem turns this into convergence in distribution.

A confidence band provides simultaneous bounds on an unknown function over its entire index set. Its coverage event is the intersection over all indices, unlike separate pointwise confidence intervals. For a continuous cumulative distribution function, the Kolmogorov-Smirnov theorem gives an asymptotic band $F_n\pm c_{\alpha }/\sqrt{n}$, clipped to $[0,1]$, where $c_{\alpha }$ is a $(1-\alpha )$-quantile of the absolute Brownian bridge maximum. The simultaneous event equals $\sqrt{n}\Vert F_n-F{\Vert }_{\infty }\le c_{\alpha }$, so convergence in distribution at this continuity point proves coverage tending to $1-\alpha$.

A lower confidence bound $L$ gives a one-sided confidence interval with the displayed coverage requirement for every admissible parameter. An upper bound $U$ instead satisfies ${\mathrm{Pr}}_{\theta }\{\theta \le U\}\ge 1-\alpha$. Coverage is a repeated-sampling property; it does not assign a posterior probability to the fixed parameter.

A confidence interval is a random interval constructed from a statistical sample to cover a fixed unknown statistical parameter with a prescribed coverage probability. For a scalar target $\theta$, a procedure with nominal confidence $1-\alpha$ satisfiesThe subscript records which probability distribution generates the repeated samples. The endpoints are statistics, so they vary from sample to sample; the target is fixed. Equality gives exact nominal coverage probability, while the inequality also permits conservative procedures. For a general estimand $\psi (\theta )$, replace the target inside the interval by $\psi (\theta )$.

A realized confidence interval communicates the precision of an estimate in the target's own units. Reporting $1.2$ alone conceals the difference between an estimate with standard error $0.5$ and one with standard error $0.05$. A narrow confidence interval indicates greater precision for the stated statistical model, rather than a guarantee that its assumptions describe the experiment correctly.

Once $x$ is observed, $C(x)$ either contains the fixed target or does not. The 95% statement concerns the random procedure $C(X)$, not a posterior probability of 0.95 that this particular interval contains $\theta$. A credible interval instead assigns specified posterior probability to a region under Bayesian inference. These interpretations can differ even when the numerical endpoints agree. The repeated-sampling interpretation is explained in NIST's confidence-limits teaching reference.

Jerzy Neyman's 1937 paper formulates the fixed-target, random-endpoint construction in Section II, especially equation (20) on page 348. Its confidence coefficient must hold across the allowed statistical parameters, rather than only at the value suggested by one sample. See Neyman, Outline of a Theory of Statistical Estimation Based on the Classical Theory of Probability and the original paper scan.

For an exponential distribution with positive rate $\lambda$, the mean is $1/\lambda$. A confidence interval for the rate transforms to one for the mean by reversing and inverting its endpoints. The monotonic transformation preserves the coverage event; it does not give a prediction interval for one realized holding time.

If a positive rate $q$ has a confidence interval $[L,U]$, monotonicity transforms it into $[1/U,1/L]$ for the reciprocal mean $1/q$. This preserves the coverage event exactly and reverses the endpoints. It applies directly to mean exponential holding times.

A random set of parameter values with specified repeated-sampling coverage: ${\mathbb{P}}_{\theta }\{\theta \in C(X)\}\ge 1-\alpha$ for every permitted $\theta$. Exact coverage, asymptotic coverage and pointwise versus uniform validity must be distinguished. A confidence interval is the scalar interval case.

Control limits bound the sampling outcomes expected under a specified reference process. An observation outside a limit is a statistical hypothesis testing signal to investigate the reference model. These are limits for observations under that model, rather than a confidence interval constructed around each observed estimate. Their calibration may be pointwise, simultaneous or sequential.

For a fixed centered design matrix $X$, independent errors of variance ${\sigma }^2$, and objective $\Vert Y-X\beta {\Vert }^2+a\Vert \beta {\Vert }^2$, put $G=X^{T}X$ and $M=G+aI$. The ridge regression estimator hasThus its standard error alone does not justify centering a confidence interval for $\beta$ at the biased estimator. A penalty chosen from the responses also changes its sampling distribution.

The coverage probability is the repeated-sampling probability that a random confidence interval contains the fixed true statistical parameter. A finite-sample level-$1-\alpha$ procedure has coverage probability at least $1-\alpha$ at every admissible statistical parameter; exact nominal coverage means equality. An asymptotically calibrated procedure approaches the nominal value as sample size grows, under its stated assumptions. Higher-order Edgeworth expansions can quantify the discrepancy from nominal coverage probability when their regularity conditions hold.

Observed coverage in finitely many repetitions is itself random. For $m$ independent repetitions of the exact normal mean confidence interval with known variance, the count $K$ of covering confidence intervals has binomial distribution $\mathrm{Binomial}(m,0.95)$. At $m=40$, its expectation is $38$, butConsequently, the 39 successes in the figure are compatible with exact 95% coverage probability. The guarantee follows from the pivotal quantity's probability distribution; the finite observed fraction is an illustration. Also distinguish a confidence interval for a fixed mean from a prediction interval for a future observation: the latter must accommodate the new observation's variation as well as estimation uncertainty.

A credible interval is an interval $C(d)$ containing a prescribed amount $1-\alpha$ of posterior probability for an unknown scalar statistical parameter $\Theta$. For a continuous posterior distribution with posterior density $p(\theta \mid d)$, its endpoints satisfyThe conditioning includes the chosen statistical model and prior distribution. For a discrete posterior distribution, exact equality may be impossible because of its probability masses; an interval can instead be required to contain at least the requested posterior probability. An interval compresses the full posterior distribution into a range whose uncertainty can be communicated in the parameter's own units. See MIT 18.05, Class 16: probability intervals.

For the eight-head, two-tail example in Bayesian statistics, the posterior density is $2860{\theta }^9(1-\theta {)}^3$ on $[0,1]$. Its cumulative distribution function, obtained by integration of this polynomial, isSolving $F(a)=0.025$ and $F(b)=0.975$ by the bisection method givesThese are numerical approximations to the exact quantiles defined by those equations; the endpoints were computed from the cumulative distribution function, rather than read off a plot. The resulting equal-tailed credible interval leaves 2.5% posterior probability on each side. Its shaded area is 95% of the total area under the posterior density.

Credible intervals are not unique. The one-sided credible interval $[0,F^{-1}(0.95)]\approx [0,0.887334219]$ also has 95% posterior probability, but leaves all 5% outside it on the right. A highest density region instead selects points above a density threshold; it need not be an equal-tailed credible interval, and when the posterior density has separated peaks it need not be one interval at all. Thus a reported credible interval should specify its construction.

A 95% credible interval makes a statement about the statistical parameter conditional on these observed data and the Bayesian model. A 95% confidence interval instead refers to the coverage probability of a procedure under repeated sampling at a fixed parameter value. These are different conditioning statements: 95% posterior probability does not by itself imply 95% coverage probability for every fixed parameter. The confidence interval article develops that sampling interpretation.

For an exponential distribution with mean $\theta$, the maximum-likelihood estimator is $\bar{Y}$ and $\sqrt{n}(\bar{Y}-\theta )/\theta$ converges to a standard normal distribution. Inverting the event that this pivot lies between $-z$ and $z$ gives the displayed confidence interval, provided $n>z^2$. Its two-sided coverage probability has error $O(n^{-1})$, because the first Edgeworth expansion term is even and cancels between the two tails.

The sample minimum and maximum enclose random population content given by the uniformized sample range. The exact failure probability for content at least $1-\epsilon$ is $(1-\epsilon {)}^{n-1}[1+(n-1)\epsilon ]$. For small $\epsilon$, setting $n\epsilon \approx \vartheta$ gives the displayed sample-size approximation at confidence $1-\delta$. The positive solution is unique for $0<\delta <1$, since $(1+\vartheta )e^{-\vartheta }$ decreases from one to zero. A tolerance interval concerns population content, rather than a confidence interval for a fixed parameter; the exact inequality should select the final integer size.

For jointly approximately normal estimates $(\hat{C},\hat{E})$ with estimated variances $v_C,v_E$ and covariance $v_{CE}$, a confidence interval for the ratio $C/E$, where $E\ne 0$, can be obtained by inverting tests of $C-rE=0$. For each proposed ratio $r$, the contrast has estimate $\hat{C}-r\hat{E}$ and variance $v_C-2r{v}_{CE}+r^2{v}_E$. Retain $r$ when its absolute standardized contrast is at most the chosen critical value $q$. This gives the displayed quadratic inequality, with coefficients $A={\hat{E}}^2-q^2{v}_E$, $B=-2(\hat{C}\hat{E}-q^2{v}_{CE})$, $D={\hat{C}}^2-q^2{v}_C$. When $A>0$ and the discriminant is positive, retain the interval between the roots. When $A<0$, a confidence set can instead be two unbounded rays or the entire real line. Degenerate linear cases are interpreted directly from the inequality. A bounded interval must not be forced when the denominator is poorly separated from zero. Known covariance matrix and a joint normal distribution give exact normal critical values; estimated covariance usually gives approximate coverage, unless an appropriate exact common-scale pivot exists.