Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Computing mathematical expectation for an experiment involving a finite number of numerical outcomes is straightforward. Let X denote the random variable having n possible values x1, x2, x3,…, xn. Letting pk denote the probability of xk, the expected value of X iswhich can be interpreted as a weighted average of all xk, where the weight of each outcome is represented by its probability. But caution is required when interpreting the sum if there are infinitely many outcomes and the series fails to converge absolutely.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Leonard M. Wapner (2025) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 5 related papers. Consider them for comparative context: