The History of Coin flipping and How We Digitalized It

Coin flipping dates back to ancient Rome when coin production first started around 7000 BC; its practice was known then as navia aut caput (ship or head). Even Julius Caesar himself supported coin-flipping!
Flip A Coin When faced with two options, many people turn to flipping a coin as an easy and quick way to make their decision. It has led to some major developments like Portland being founded.
The History of Flipping Coins
Coin flipping has been an ancient practice. Metal coins first came into use around 7th century BC, and coin flipping became widespread as early as ancient Rome (known as “navia aut caput”) when coins depicting Julius Caesar were produced (49 BC). Coins were even used to make decisions related to criminality, property ownership, marriage and more in those days and was considered legally binding.
Flipping a coin has long been used as an easy, effective and cost-efficient method of settling disputes ranging from which team should go first in a sports match to who gets the last slice of pizza. One of the most famous coin tosses ever held took place back in 1845 when two founding fathers of Portland (then known as The Clearing) battled over its name and were determined to name their new city after flipping a coin was chosen as their strategy to determine naming rights for it.
The Mathematical Origins of Coin Flipping
Leave major decisions up to chance by tossing a coin is never an ideal approach, but it does happen frequently – whether in Parliament, at Super Bowl games, or during movie night in your living room. We frequently make major decisions based on coin flips which result in major decisions being made based on its results – be they more serious decisions like rock-paper-scissors or who gets the last slice of pizza! Nonetheless, this global practice continues.
Persi Diaconis began questioning whether or not the outcome of coin flips were truly determined by chance alone, so he set about creating his own mechanical coin flipper to test this theory. His results supported it; each individual tosses their coin at different heights and speeds which leads to different outcomes for every flip.
David Levitt took this concept a step further by conducting a field experiment. He asked participants to identify an important decision they needed to make and then flip a virtual coin as a reminder; those who took this step reported being significantly happier six months afterward than those who didn’t flip their coins for change.
Mathematically speaking, coin flips have two possible outcomes that are easily calculable, but their psychological ramifications can be much more subtle. Freud would often recommend flipping one to clients who were having difficulty making a decision as a means to uncovering what exactly they were seeking to decide through their reaction to coin toss.
For example, when participants were feeling nervous or excited, their coin would likely point towards tails; conversely, when feeling at peace and under control, their coin was likely pointing toward heads. Unfortunately, it’s not quite that straightforward – psychological processes make this an interesting topic of future research. Professor Marton Balazs from Bristol University wasn’t involved in this particular study but notes that coin flipping is both physical and psychological processes involved.
The Practical Applications of Coin Flipping
Coin tossing is an increasingly popular means of making decisions, whether that be at the Super Bowl, Houses of Parliament, movie night in one’s living room, or anywhere else people find themselves needing to make important choices. While its origins remain mysterious, coin flipping has become part of our daily lives and continues to play an integral role.
Most people do not realize that a coin flip is far from random; rather, the coin tends to land on its original side more often than expected – known as same-side bias. Persi Diaconis suggested in 2007 that this phenomenon may be due to some degree of precession — a wobble in its trajectory — that causes one side of it more often than expected to appear.
Recent experiments conducted by researchers affiliated with multiple European institutions conducted experiments and published their findings in arXiv preprint server confirmed same-side bias as well as provided the first experimental demonstration of a quantum coin-flipping protocol resistant to loss (meaning it cannot be exploited by cheaters).
These results may not directly apply to practical coin flipping uses, but they provide us with some useful clues as to how we might design and implement better methods. For instance, knowing whether same-side bias is more prevalent among certain coins or flippers may prove invaluable in designing more efficient methods of play.
More importantly, this research suggests we should not fear letting a random coin flip guide our decisions. Indeed, same-side bias can actually be beneficial; by leaving our biases and prejudices up to chance. Freud himself recognized this effect; when making important decisions he sometimes advised his patients to “flip a coin”.
Random search can be useful in many different situations, from online dating websites to the healthcare system. Random selection can prevent sites from reinforcing our own biases by showing only candidates we already like or dislike.
The Symbolic Origins of Coin Flipping
Coin flips have long been used as a symbol of fairness; from settling disputes about who gets the last slice of pizza or whether bowling or the movies should happen on Friday nights to making life-altering decisions like which Wright brother would pilot their first powered airplane at Kill Devil Hill in 1903. And in an important vote over Secretariat – perhaps the greatest racehorse ever–the toss of a coin was used as the definitive vote-deciding vote.
Practice of coin flipping can be traced as far back as 7th century BC; however, its first documented appearance can be found during Roman times where it was known as navia aut caput (literally “ship or head”). This name likely derives from Roman coins with ships on one side and an Emperor’s head on the other; Julius Caesar even adopted this method of decision making in 49 BC by minting coins bearing his image!
Today, coin flipping can be found all around the world. Coin flipping is used by various sports such as American and non-American versions of football (eSports), cricket, tennis and fencing to decide who goes first or determine the winner in a tie situation. Politicians also often rely on coin tossing when two candidates receive equal votes while scientists may use them to organize author lists for academic publications.