Alternative Forms of The Problem
An interesting related problem, somewhat similar to the Birthday paradox is that of determining the size of the input set so that we have a probability of one half that there is a solution, under the assumption that each element in the set is randomly selected with uniform distribution between 1 and some given value.
The problem is interesting in that the solution can be counter-intuitive (not unlike the Birthday paradox). For example, with elements randomly selected in between 1 and one million, many people's intuition is that the answer is in the thousands, tens, or even hundreds of thousands, whereas the correct answer is approximately 23 (see Birthday problem#Partition problem for details).
Read more about this topic: Partition Problem
Famous quotes containing the words alternative, forms and/or problem:
“A mental disease has swept the planet: banalization.... Presented with the alternative of love or a garbage disposal unit, young people of all countries have chosen the garbage disposal unit.”
—Ivan Chtcheglov (b. 1934)
“The delicious faces of children, the beauty of school-girls, the sweet seriousness of sixteen, the lofty air of well-born, well-bred boys, the passionate histories in the looks and manners of youth and early manhood, and the varied power in all that well-known company that escort us through life,we know how these forms thrill, paralyze, provoke, inspire, and enlarge us.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (18031882)
“The problem for the King is just how strict
The lack of liberty, the squeeze of the law
And discipline should be in school and state....”
—Robert Frost (18741963)