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)
“I used to be a discipline problem, which caused me embarrassment until I realized that being a discipline problem in a racist society is sometimes an honor.”
—Ishmael Reed (b. 1938)