Chit Chat
There is currently 1 person viewing this thread.
These 85 comments are related to the topic:
brain games mathmatical question..
brain games mathmatical question..
sort by:
Show
per page
Replies: 85
|
By:
Your analysis only works if you are made aware before the whole thing starts that there will be the option to swap.
|
|
By:
Crags:
It wouldn't be fifty fifty, sir. You have already ensured it is 2 to 1 with your original pick. |
|
By:
If you wish to make a profit you have to swap, the key to this is if the money is in box three the next stage is obviously null & void, hence you only given the option once the three box is out of the equation, that 2/1 shot ( box 1 ) with one less runner is still not an even money chance its still odds against so the right move would be to swap.
|
|
By:
That is true, Patra.
|
|
By:
It is a classic brainteaser. I'm sure many a punter has had their fingers burnt betting on even money.
|
|
By:
Well I'm keeping my box and that's final!
|
|
By:
Its similar to the classic if you had 26 people in a room what are the odds that two actually have the same birthday
|
|
By:
In the end on a one-off situation, it's all down to luck!
|
|
By:
I'll open the box Michael and stop trying to fox me.
|
|
By:
Well, my 60/40 offer stands if anyone wants to take me up on it.
 |
|
By:
I'd swap.
|
|
By:
Right PM I'll take you on. £600 to £400 in my favour.
I've got the boxes set up and will let you know the outcome some time tomorrow night. |
|
By:
Okay, I accept. How can we make this thing work?
|
|
By:
It's started. I'm at box 6 and looking favourite.
 |
|
By:
|
|
By:
You cannot play solo, somebody has to act as the unbiased quizmaster.
|
|
By:
My wife is doing that. Box 11 now and I'm still favourite.
I hope your not one of these people who goes back on their word. |
|
By:
No, I'm certainaly not. By the same token, I hope you're not one of those who is economical with the truth.
|
|
By:
1 in 3 chance you are correct
2 in 3 chance you are incorrect You are going to be incorrect more than you are correct If incorrect, then the box opener is forced to open the only other empty box. Therefore the money is the remaining box (the one NOT chosen and the one NOT opened). If correct, then the box opener can open any of the other two. Since you are going to be incorrect more times than you are correct, it is advantageous to swap as the money will be in the remaining box. |
|
By:
Let me know the result after box 1000, Akabula, and we'll settle up.
|
|
By:
OK PM
I have to say I'm feeling lucky and on a good run, box 32 and it's 31-1 in my favour. You can put that down to variance. |
|
By:
As you're on a lucky streak, perhaps we could up the ante and I'll travel to play the game in person?
|
|
By:
the OP doesn't mention that the "host" or whoever picks the 2nd box isn't allowed to pick the winning box.
|
|
By:
Are the boxes different colour's because that could make a big difference.
|
|
By:
the % of the awap is not 50/50 its 2/3 or 66.66%
|
|
By:
awap = swap
|
|
By:
i have proof that this is the answer forget all the ponderables about weight colour etc
read the effing ? |
|
By:
|
|
By:
what the puffin hell are you puffin talking about
|
|
By:
like someone else said up there ^ monty hall, do the swap.
|
|
By:
There is a vital piece of information missing from the OP. The missing info is that the person offering the choice of boxes KNOWS which box contains the money...and then opens the first box knowing that it contains nothing.
So you swap your box, which had (and STILL HAS!) a one-in-three chance of winning for the another box which now has a one-in-two chance. But this only applies if the person offering and opening the boxes KNOWS where the money is. It is NOT pure chance as one might first think. |
|
By:
No the person offering the choice does not have to know, it is better
to swap and this is the case when both players don't know. |
|
By:
Actually it is dependent of course on the 2nd box being empty.
If this was done say 100 times would it be an advantage to always go 2nd if no swops are allowed and the person going first has a one in 3 chance? |
|
By:
^^^ no that wouldn't work, you need to be offered the swop, after
the second box is empty. |
|
By:
When box 3 is taken away you are left with a 1 in 2 chance that box 1 has the money and similar odds that box 2 contains the cash.
|
|
By:
I remember watching this conundrum on Marcus Du Sautoy's show with Alan Davies as his guest a few years ago and it took me ages before I twigged:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_djTy3G0pg |
|
By:
Fought against this for a while. Only made sense when someone explained with more boxes.
Pick a box out of 100, 98 empties get removed, dont know what odds on the other box but loads better than my 99/1 |
|
By:
^^^ most elegant clarification
|
|
By:
Ok then. I agree that the person opening the boxes does NOT need to know which are empty. But this would mean that once in every three repetitions of the game the first box opened would be the prize box...thereby totally ruining the whole point of the puzzle!
|
|
By:
Nailedontip. Yes it is much easier to see with more original boxes. But some of these posters don't realise that, with 100 boxes, the puzzle wouldn't work 99 times out of !00. Unless the box-opener KNOWS which are the empty ones!
 |