Related papers: A note on the problem of prisoners and hats
The "interior goat problem" is a numerical puzzle which has haunted mathematicians for nearly three centuries. Closed-form solutions have only been found for the two-dimensional case, and although approximations have been established for…
We introduce SudoQ, a quantum version of the classical game Sudoku. Allowing the entries of the grid to be (non-commutative) projections instead of integers, the solution set of SudoQ puzzles can be much larger than in the classical…
The combinatorial stochastic semi-bandit problem is an extension of the classical multi-armed bandit problem in which an algorithm pulls more than one arm at each stage and the rewards of all pulled arms are revealed. One difference with…
Riddles are concise linguistic puzzles that describe an object or idea through indirect, figurative, or playful clues. They are a longstanding form of creative expression, requiring the solver to interpret hints, recognize patterns, and…
N players are randomly fitted with a colored hat (q different colors). All players guess simultaneously the color of their own hat observing only the hat colors of the other N-1 players. The team wins if all players guess right. No…
This paper studies asymmetric Ebert's Hat Problem with five players where the probability of the colors may be unequal. We obtain maximal winning probabilities and optimal winning strategies using the concept of adequate sets.
We present three versions of the classic two-pile game \textsc{one-or-one-or-one-of-both} generalized to the multi-pile context. In each case, we explore the resulting $\mathcal{P}$-positions. In the first version, there is a simple…
In this note we present a brief overview of variational methods to solve homogenization problems. The purpose is to give a first insight on the subject by presenting some fundamental theoretical tools, both classical and modern. We conclude…
We point out the connection between mathematical knot theory and spin glass/search problem. In particular, we present a statistical mechanical formulation of the problem of computing a knot invariant; p-colorability problem, which provides…
The Levine hat game requires $n$ players, each wearing an infinite random stack of black and white hats, to guess the location of a black hat on their own head seeing only the hats worn by all the other players. They are allowed a strategy…
Some basic features of confinement are reviewed, in particular the symmetry patterns of the dual dynamics. Open problems and possible directions of progress are discussed.
The domination problem and several of its variants (total domination, 2-domination and secure domination) are considered. These problems have various real-world applications, but are NP-hard to solve to provable optimality, making fast…
We define a countable family of sequences of points in the unit square: the {\it $LS$-sequences of points \`a la Halton}. They reveal a very strange and interesting behaviour, as well as resonance phenomena, for which we have not found an…
We present a short review of the existing evidence in favor of neutrino mass and neutrino oscillations which come from different kinds of experiments. We focus our attention in particular on solar neutrinos, presenting a global updated…
Recently we proposed the linguistic interpretation of quantum mechanics (called quantum and classical measurement theory, or quantum language), which was characterized as a kind of metaphysical and linguistic turn of the Copenhagen…
We resolve the complexity of the point-boundary variant of the art gallery problem, showing that it is $\exists\mathbb{R}$-complete, meaning that it is equivalent under polynomial time reductions to deciding whether a system of polynomial…
In the Feline Josephus problem, soldiers stand in a circle, each having $\ell$ `lives'. Going around the circle, a life is taken from every $k$th soldier; soldiers with 0 lives remaining are removed from the circle. Finding the last…
Jigsaw puzzle solving is an intriguing problem which has been explored in computer vision for decades. This paper focuses on a specific variant of the problem - solving puzzles with eroded boundaries. Such erosion makes the problem…
The Sleeping Beauty problem is a probability riddle with no definite solution for more than two decades and its solution is of great interest in many fields of knowledge. There are two main competing solutions to the problem: the halfer…
We provide a simple proof for the union-closed sets conjecture, a long-standing open problem in set theory with immediate applications to graph theory, number theory, and order-theory.