[Filligree]

The "probability" return value appears to be a straight average; it returns 1 for "Peter", which is almost guaranteed to be incorrect - all it takes is a single female Peter, anywhere on the planet.

A better approach, in the absence of more complex models, would be to use Laplace's sunrise formula.

[huxley]

My great-aunt is a nun, her name became Peter Claver.

She isn't the only one either, there are hundreds of them that took their name from a Catholic saint.

[mjolk]

You're kidding right? Guessing gender for a "show hacker news" with a .io domain is a clear case of "done is better than perfect."

[stephencanon]

Adding 1 to the numerator and 2 to the denominator is a trivial improvement, not pie-in-the-sky whiteboarding that prevents you from shipping.

[mjolk]

Yes, to fix the "girls named Larry" bug.