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St. Petersburg paradox

St. Petersburg paradox noun: the paradox raised by a particular (theoretical) lottery game that leads to a random variable with infinite expected value (i.e. infinite expected payoff) but nevertheless seems to be worth only a very small amount to the participants.

Noun

St. Petersburg paradox (plural St. Petersburg paradoxes)

  1. The paradox raised by a particular (theoretical) lottery game that leads to a random variable with infinite expected value (i.e. infinite expected payoff) but nevertheless seems to be worth only a very small amount to the participants.

Forms of St. Petersburg paradox

pluralSt. Petersburg paradoxes
alternative formPetersburg paradox
alternative formSaint Petersburg paradox

Origin of St. Petersburg paradox

Named from its resolution by Daniel Bernoulli, one-time resident of the eponymous Russian city, who published his arguments in the Commentaries of the Imperial Academy of Science of Saint Petersburg (Bernoulli 1738). However, the problem was invented by Daniel's cousin, Nicolas Bernoulli.

Questions about St. Petersburg paradox

What does St. Petersburg paradox mean?
St. Petersburg paradox means the paradox raised by a particular (theoretical) lottery game that leads to a random variable with infinite expected value (i.e. infinite expected payoff) but nevertheless seems to be worth only a very small amount to the participants.
What part of speech is St. Petersburg paradox?
St. Petersburg paradox is a noun.
What is the plural of St. Petersburg paradox?
The plural of St. Petersburg paradox is St. Petersburg paradoxes.

Words near St. Petersburg paradox in the dictionary

  1. St. Peters Bay
  2. St. Petersburg
  3. St. Petersburg Beach
  4. St. Petersburg lotteries
  5. St. Petersburg lottery
  6. St. Petersburg paradox
  7. St. Petersburg paradoxes
  8. St. Petersburgh
  9. St. Pölten
  10. St. Regis Falls
  11. St. Shott's

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: St. Petersburg paradox (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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