|
|
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 872
old hand
|
OP
old hand
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 872 |
Maybe I'm dense, but the strategy offered by the site tsuwm posted seems without logic. I'll read it carefully again but in the meantime I'd like to post a strategy that is in a large part based on delimiting comments made by contributors to this thread. As given below...After much hand wringing and gnashing of teeth the prisoners finally realized that their fate was left to the less than exacting craft of Probability Math. And since fractioning a .9999999 likelihood will never reach a certainty of 1, they sighed and voted on what percentage of chance that they would collectively accept against the unpleasant act of being eaten alive and torn limb from limb by prison alligators. But prison itself wasn't much of lark either so they found a point of convergence that would spring them from jail at the earliest time, while at the same time giving them a 98 per cent chance of not being thrown to the gators. The trigger is the number of trips to the switch room by the most frequent prisoner, the math works out something like this... The odds of all prisoners being selected at random on the first round of 23 are against selection at about a trillion or so to one. But surprisingly only 92 random trips to the switch room gives a 94 percent likelihood that everyone has visited the switch room at least once. As well, after 92 random visits to switch room the chance of one prisoner haven visited the switch room four times was 88 percent likely. But our understandably nervous prisoners weren't much at close gambling, so here is the plan they devised... The first prisoner to visit the switch room was to leave the switch room with switch (A) in the DOWN position by either pulling it down or leaving it and pulling switch (B). All prisoners were afterwards to pull switch (B) only. Except for the first prisoner to visit the switch room for the fifth time. (This maths out to a 98 percent likelihood that all prisoners have visited the switch room.) Then he is to say to the warden "EVERYONE HAS VISITED THE SWITCH ROOM" and then throw switch (A) to the UP position. Why does the prisoner throw the switch to UP after just haven been saved from death by alligators? Well that's a prisoners way of saying... "UP YOURS WARDEN!". 
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 2,636
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 2,636 |
In reply to:
"If it is true, then you will all be set free. If it is false, and somebody has not yet visited the switch room, you will be fed to the alligators."
The warden made a point to include all in the freeing but said only you when refering to the alligators. [shrug-e]
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
f it is true, then you will all be set free. If it is false, and somebody has not yet visited the switch room, you will be fed to the alligators."
The warden was talking to all of them when he said that.
The warden meets with 23 new prisoners when they arrive.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 872
old hand
|
|
OP
old hand
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 872 |
it is true, then you will all be set free. If it is false, and somebody has not yet visited the switch room, you will be fed to the alligators." ~ picky consueloThe warden was talking to all of them when he said that. ~ faldageConsuelo, mam. That's why we of the south have the human decency to say "you all". I deduce that the hated warden was a cruel northerner lacking in even the most elementary language training. 
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
have the human decency to say "you all"
Which would be all well and good if y'all'd limit it to the plural, of which I've heard it in the singular, too. Mo better we shutn't a gone away from thee/thou. (And folks complain about they in the singular. At least it retains the nominative vs. accusative/dative distinction stead a using only the accusative/dative)
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 833
old hand
|
|
old hand
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 833 |
Milo's answer has a sweet reason to it....I vote for it.
My bro couldn't come up with anything, except the probability factor (without Milum's added touch of leaving the A switch in the UP position until one prisoner made his fifth visit to the room).
Is there really a semantics problem with you/you all? No one prisoner is going to want to speak out and find himself the only one thrown to the 'gators; but none but the hardendest of criminals (which they all might be, granted!) would want to proclaim a death sentence on everyone, himself included, either. Yes?
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 872
old hand
|
|
OP
old hand
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 872 |
Oops!  I think I had better wait until my know-it-all physicist buddy gets back in town wednesday to check my figuring before I post the supportive math to my solution to the prison puzzle here on Awad and before forwarding it on to the Tapit Bros. Either these folk's http://randomizer.org research randomizer generator atoms aren't decaying properly, or I have made a slight mistake in my calculations. Whew! That was close. Twenty-three prisoners thrown to gators because of a misplaced digit. Or two. The good news is that the low-life, scum-of-the-earth, prisoners might have to stay in jail a tad longer than I originally thought.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
the supportive math
Why settle for a solution that has a finite chance of failing when you can have one that will succeed every time?
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 872
old hand
|
|
OP
old hand
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 872 |
Why settle for a solution that has a finite chance of failing when you can have one that will succeed every time?
I'm with you. Any bright ideas?
|
|
|
|
Forums16
Topics13,913
Posts229,374
Members9,182
| |
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
|
|
|
0 members (),
197
guests, and
0
robots. |
|
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
|
|
