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Terr_today at 8:57 AM1 replyview on HN

Probability seems to be one of those things humans habitually mess-up at.

"The chances of this person's unique DNA showing up at the scene are a zillion to one!"

"What does that really mean when the sample also contains unique DNA for a hundred other people? Did all of them commit the crime as a group?"


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chiphtoday at 12:02 PM

Depends on how they're using it. To find an unknown person and prove they were at a scene - yeah you'll have the 100 person's worth of DNA to sort through and then match against a (presently) incomplete DNA database. But if you already have a suspect and need to place them at the scene, if their DNA is one of the 100 then they have shown that.

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