Last post wins.

[Kamikaze28]

(07-04-2012 10:11 PM)phrenikos Wrote:  

(07-04-2012 02:15 AM)Kamikaze28 Wrote:  That's clever - the computer science part of me calculated the expected winnings and therefore wants to play at any cost, because the expected winnings is infinite. My gut however wouldn't pay more than $8. And in reality, I don't gamble for money and wouldn't play at all.

Good answer Kami! I got this as an interview question once - they had me stumped until I realized they weren't actually looking for a numeric value, but how'd I approach the problem.

My first response was "hey, this can easily be simulated" - and I wrote 20 lines of C. Then I noticed that with increasing iterations, the average winnings increased and it dawned on me. Once you formulate the expected value, it's clear as day that this is fishy.

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Here's another interesting thing, maybe you've heard it already but don't spoil the experience and google it!
A man walks into a bar and asks for a glass of water, the barkeep takes out his trusty shotgun and closely misses the man. The man then pays the barkeep, thanks him and leaves. What happened?