The two-envelope problem revisited
Date
2010
Authors
Abbott, D.
Davis, B.
Parrondo, J.
Editors
Advisors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Type:
Journal article
Citation
Fluctuation and Noise Letters (FNL), 2010; 9(1):1-8
Statement of Responsibility
Derek Abbott, Bruce R. Davis and Juan M. R. Parrondo
Conference Name
Abstract
The two-envelope problem has intrigued mathematicians for decades, and is a question of choice between two states in the presence of uncertainty. The problem so far, is considered open and there has been no agreed approach or framework for its analysis. In this paper we outline an elementary approach based on Cover's switching function that, in essence, makes a biased random choice where the bias is conditioned on the observed value of one of the states. We argue that the resulting symmetry breaking introduced by this process results in a gain counter to naive expectation. Finally, we discuss a number of open questions and new lines of enquiry that this discovery opens up. © 2010 World Scientific Publishing Company.
School/Discipline
Dissertation Note
Provenance
Description
Access Status
Rights
© World Scientific Publishing Company