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Charlie puts 26 presents in 100 boxes, labeled 1 to 100. Each second, Alice and Bob look in one box. Alice opens them in order (1,2,3,…), while Bob opens the odds first, then the evens (1,3,5,…,2,4,6,…). Who is more likely to see all 26 presents first?
(This is a variant of a great puzzle I learned from Gil Kalai’s blog here: https://t.co/2tJflKUYgQ)
Charlie puts 26 presents in 100 boxes, labeled 1 to 100. Each second, Alice and Bob look in one box. Alice opens them in order (1,2,3,…), while Bob opens the odds first, then the evens (1,3,5,…,2,4,6,…). Who is more likely to see all 26 presents first?
Assistant professor (of mathematics) at the University of Toronto. Algebraic geometry, number theory, forever distracted and confused, etc. He/him.
Charlie puts 26 presents in 100 boxes, labeled 1 to 100. Each second, Alice and Bob look in one box. Alice opens them in order (1,2,3,…), while Bob opens the odds first, then the evens (1,3,5,…,2,4,6,…). Who is more likely to see all 26 presents first?
Assistant professor (of mathematics) at the University of Toronto. Algebraic geometry, number theory, forever distracted and confused, etc. He/him.