You're Odds

Time Out New York (author unknown) gives us an odd look at this weekend’s upcoming concert featuring Xenakis’ Oresteia. Let’s see if I can reciprocate, shall I?

Odds

Odd indeed. Let’s go!

0.1%
That Miller Theatre impresario George Steel will take Oresteia to his new job at the Dallas Opera.

He screams, “Dallas doesn’t like new music!”

99%
That the little old couple sitting in the third row won’t make it past the 15-minute mark.

The old couple screams, “We don’t like new music! We also tire easily!”

2%
That the general public knows that Greek composer Iannis Xenakis (1922–2001) used higher maths to make music of raw, primitive fury.

Everyone screams, “We don’t know dick about new music! Or math! And we don’t like either of them!”

80%
That some local journalist will use the phrase “It’s all Greek to me” to describe the gnarly Oresteia, based on an ancient tragedy by Aeschylus.

The critic screams, "I don’t like new music! And I think I'm witty!”

40%
That Columbia University’s fraternities will make attendance a Greek Week pledge requirement. Xenakis’ Oresteia is at Miller Theatre Sept 13, 16 and 17.

Time Out New York screams, “Xenakis is tortuous crap that no one in their right mind would care to hear, even if they were bat-shit drunk wearing only a toga as a dare to fulfill their need for social acceptance! And we hate math, too!”

Commenter Bob has just one small problem with all of this:

“I think you mean probabilities, not odds. Odds (in favor of an event) are a ratio of the probability of success over the probability of failure of an event."

Good catch, Bob.
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