Chronology Current Month Current Thread Current Date
[Year List] [Month List (current year)] [Date Index] [Thread Index] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Date Prev] [Date Next]

Re: A game strategy.



John Mallinckrodt wrote:

You're preaching to the converted here. When I first heard about
the Monty Hall problem years ago, I too found it difficult to
believe the reported solution. Like you, I began to write some
code to simulate the game. But I never finished my program
because the simple process of writing it made it abundantly
obvious what the answer would be ... and why.

I agree; after writing simulation programs the justification of the
switching strategy becomes so obvious that I no longer need to
simulate anything. Drawing pictures for possible outcomes is
now totally sufficient.

The moral of the story, in this case, is that programming
promotes clear thinking. Some people can think clearly
without programming, others need programming, or
something like it, to organize thinking.

The question "what makes this problem so counterintuitive" is
worth asking. That was the main point of my first message.
Ludwik Kowalski