Is this seat taken?
So I've busy and haven't had a chance to post much, but I figure I can at least throw a puzzle out there. Here it is:
You are going to get on an airplane because you are flying to Laos for a fun weekend getaway. You are the 100th person in line to board a 100 seat jet. However, it seems the first person in line is a crazy old person. That's right, she is crazy AND old, which of course can only mean trouble. When she boards the plane, being crazy and old, she will not necessarily sit in her assigned seat; rather, she will sit anywhere she damn well pleases. Everyone else is not crazy and old, so they will try and sit in their assigned seat, unless someone else is already in it, and then they will randomly choose another seat. So let's say the crazy old woman chooses seat 45. Then that person will randomly choose another seat, perhaps seat 97. Then that person will randomly choose another seat, and the insanity continues. My question is this: how likely is it that you will end up in your assigned seat?
posted by Ryan at 10:17 AM
8 Comments:
why must the crazy old person be a woman?
that's my answer. yes. i answer in the form of a question. because i am a woman and apparently i am destined to be crazy when i'm old.
ryry this puzzle is hard. can you just e-mail me the answer?
12:00 PM
Well, I needed a crazy old person in my story, and it was either I say "he" or I say "she". I chose the non-traditional route.
I'll send you a hint to the puzzle, but don't give up.
1:34 PM
Are the people lined up in a particular order? Like in real life, where section 4 boards before section 3?
This problem is underspecified!!
11:58 PM
im going with 1/2.
12:23 PM
really? 1/2? i was thinking something more crazy like something out of 100!. but i, like jitters, would like clarification, i suppose. this makes me tired. your bargain buggy is dumb.
9:54 AM
matt, can you give an explanation for how you got that?
3:06 PM
In any given situation there are only two possibilites that matter. if the person takes your seat or if she takes the old woman seat, everything else is irrelevent. If she takes your seat then you have a 0% chance if she takes her seat then there is a 100% chance of you getting your seat. (100 + 0) / 2 = 50. If the oldwoman doesnt select either one it just goes on down the line starting with whichever seat the old woman selects
10:18 PM
Ok, matt wins again.
11:38 AM
Post a Comment
<< Home