WMAP spot

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CTMV06: Cruz, Tucci, Martinez-Gonzalez, Vielva
Decides the WMAP spot really is special.
The spot is circular, with a radius of 8deg. It doesn't seem circular to me. The problem is always stated as, "The probability of seeing something like that in the simulations is only n%". So there is only an n% chance that this is not special. But is this correct? There are alot of things I can possibly see. Suppose I saw something that looked like Elvis? If I went "a priori" looking for Elvis in the data and found him, then looked at the simulations and found him in only 0.01%, then I could conclude that there is an anomaly. But I have a large number of potential "Elvises" in my head: Banana, Porche, Jesus, cross, Wico Joytstick. Each with very low probability of seeing in the data. But many times a low probability can mean a fairly good chance.

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