Proof of Bayes' theorem and its extension

Bayes' theorem states the following:

P(A|B)=[P(B|A) * P(A)]/P(B)

Proof:

We can prove this theorem using elementary set theory on the probability spaces of the events A and B. That is, here, a probability event will be defined as the set of the possible outcomes in the probability space:

Figure 2.1: Probability space for the two events
From figure 2.1 above, we can state the following relationships:

P(A|B)=P(AB)/P(B)

P(B|A)=P(AB)/P(A)

Rearranging these relationships, we get the following:

P(AB)=P(A|B)*P(B)

P(AB)=P(B|A)*P(A)

P(A|B)*P(B)=P(B|A)*P(A)

This is, in fact, Bayes' theorem:

P(A|B)=P(B|A)*P(A)/P(B)

This concludes the proof.

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