Three Random Points on a Circle
The problem
Pick three points uniformly at random on a circle. They form a triangle.
What is the probability that the triangle is acute — i.e. all three angles are less than ?
Tempting (but wrong)
Acute triangles feel like the typical case — most random-looking triangles aren't extremely stretched. People usually guess between and .
But the geometry of inscribed triangles is much more constraining than free-floating triangles, and the answer is far below 50%.