Inner peace? There's an app for that

Those of you with an iPhone will know that you can get an app* for pretty much anything. But did you know you can now achieve inner peace by way of your iPhone?


You didn't? That's because you probably don't get occasional emails sent to you by the Chopra Center. It seems that Deepak Chopra (he of the cheap night out) has released a stress free app to help you calm down in between Facebook updates. But the name is the only thing about it that is free. At £5.99 it's one of the more expensive iPhone apps.

Oh, you can also use your iPhone to help you with your cosmic ordering (which I just know you're all trying now). And it's not just any cosmic ordering app, it's Noel Edmonds Cosmic Ordering app. Yes, it has The Edmonds seal of approval. Compared to Deepak's offering it's a snip at just £1.19.

Personally, I prefer Boggle.

*For the uninitiated (mum, dad) an 'app' is an application, or piece of software, that you can download and install on to your phone from the iTunes App Store. There are now over 100,000 apps available for the iPhone!

Cosmic!

I guess it is no coincidence that, two months into what I find myself referring to as 'operation freefall', my interest in cosmic ordering is returning. As some of you will remember, cosmic ordering was the subject of a certain book that, ahem, found its way into my possession. (But we don't talk about that any more...)

Cosmic ordering refers to the idea that to make your dreams become a reality you can effectively place orders with the cosmos. The cosmos then dutifully delivers your order, much like any other delivery service (other than the Royal Mail, I guess). There seem to be dozens of books devoted to the subject of cosmic ordering out there (and more than 17 million hits on Google!) but the book that is typically regarded as inspiring the rising interest in cosmic ordering is Barbel Mohr's book The Cosmic Ordering Service. It was this book that Noel Edmonds cited as introducing him to the concept and that led to his return to TV in Deal or No Deal.

Well, if it worked for The Edmonds, could it work for me? Has anyone else here tried cosmic ordering? Or is it a load of twaddle?

Let's Make a Deal

Long before Sir Noel Edmonds* wasted hours upon hours, but making shedloads of money, opening boxes in Deal or No Deal, there was a US show called Let's Make a Deal. This included a far less drawn out affair in which contestants chose one of three doors. Behind one of the doors was a prize, such as a car, whilst behind the other doors lay nothing. Once the contestant had made his or her choice, the show's presenter, Monty Hall, would then open one of the doors that had nothing behind it and ask the contestant if they would like to change from their original chosen door (which remains closed) to the one remaining door. And that was it.

Doesn't sound like much, does it? But it lay the basis for one of the most talked about mathematical 'problems' of recent years. The question was, should the contestant stick with their original choice or should they change their mind and choose the other door? Does it make a difference? Which would you do?

It became known as the 'Monty Hall Problem' and the perhaps surprising and counter-intuitive answer is that you should change doors. By changing doors, your odds of winning the car double, from 1 in 3 to 2 in 3. You might think that changing doors would make no difference, but you'd be wrong. You might even think that it would be better to stay with the door your first chose, as at least that way you are less likely to feel regret if you end up not having chosen the winning door: Wouldn't it be worse if you changed your mind and found that the door you had first chosen was hiding the car all along? You would feel as though you almost had the car in your hands and then lost it. But the statistics say you'd be wrong not to changed your choice. If you stuck with your original choice you would halve your chances of winning the car!

I'm wondering if there are similar statistical surprises hidden in Deal or No Deal? Or is it just Noel Edmonds randomly opening boxes hour after hour?

*As far as I'm aware, Mr Edmonds is not a Knight of the Realm, nor are there any plans to make him one. It's just that I think he deserves one. Not for Deal or No Deal. God no. I'm referring to his sterling efforts presenting Multi-Coloured SwapShop back in the 70's. If he managed to swap a pair of roller skates for scalextric once, he must have done it a dozen times.**

**Speaking of which, if anyone has any scalextric track they would like to swap for, well, a pair of roller skates then put your details in one side of a postcard...