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Conference rusure::math

Title:Mathematics at DEC
Moderator:RUSURE::EDP
Created:Mon Feb 03 1986
Last Modified:Fri Jun 06 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:2083
Total number of notes:14613

622.0. "how many flips -- a duplicate of note 623" by SIERRA::OSMAN (and silos to fill before I feep, and silos to fill before I feep) Tue Dec 09 1986 14:22



	Suppose you flip a fair coin, and then continue flipping until
	an equal number of heads and tails have been seen, writing down
	the number of flips that were necessary.

	Now suppose this task is repeated many times.  What is the expected
	average of the numbers of flips written down ?


	Wording this differently, but intending exactly the same thing:
	What is the expected number of flips of a fair coin neceessary to
	produce an equal number of heads and tails ?

	/Eric
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622.2apologiesCLT::GILBERTeager like a childThu Jan 15 1987 23:5512
    As a moderator, I was lax in not deleting what was clearly a 'stutter'.
    Note 622.0 is essentially identical to 623.0, and 623 is where others
    decided to reply.

    Unfortunately, this must be discouraging to Roos (and possibly others)
    who have started making inroads into this problem.  Could a few 'regulars'
    post interesting problems of moderate difficulty for the new-comers, to
    help me make up for my gaffe?  Thanks.

					- Gilbert

P.S.  I've write-locked this note against further replies.