The Waiting-Time Paradox
History and Overview
2020-09-24 v2
Abstract
Suppose that you're going to school and arrive at a bus stop. How long do you have to wait before the next bus arrives? Surprisingly, it is longer - possibly much longer - than what the bus schedule suggests intuitively. This phenomenon, which is called the waiting-time paradox, has a purely mathematical origin. Different buses arrive with different intervals, leading to this paradox. In this article, we explore the waiting-time paradox, explain why it happens, and discuss some of its implications (beyond the possibility of being late for school).
Cite
@article{arxiv.2007.05883,
title = {The Waiting-Time Paradox},
author = {Naoki Masuda and Mason A. Porter},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2007.05883},
year = {2020}
}
Comments
3 figures