Related papers: 100 prisoners and a lightbulb -- looking back
This paper addresses the Counting Long Aggregated Visits problem, which is defined as follows. We are given $n$ users and $m$ regions, where each user spends some time visiting some regions. For a parameter $k$ and a query consisting of a…
In continuous time, customers arrive at random. Each waits until one of $c$ servers is available; each thereafter departs at random. The distribution of maximum line length of idle customers was studied over 25 years ago. We revisit two…
We study a class of optimal allocation problems, including the well-known Bomber Problem, with the following common probabilistic structure. An aircraft equipped with an amount~$x$ of ammunition is intercepted by enemy airplanes arriving…
We present a question bank consisting of over 250 multiple-choice and true-false questions covering a broad range of material typically taught in an introductory undergraduate course in numerical analysis or scientific computing. The…
In recent years, large language models (LLMs) have shown an impressive ability to perform arithmetic and symbolic reasoning tasks. However, we found that LLMs (e.g., ChatGPT) cannot perform well on reasoning that requires multiple rounds of…
The main objective of this paper is the following two results. (1) There exists a computable bi-orderable group that does not have a computable bi-ordering; (2) There exists a bi-orderable, two-generated recursively presented solvable group…
Tool use, such as web search, has become a standard capability even in freely available large language models (LLMs). However, existing benchmarks evaluate temporal reasoning mainly in static, non-tool-using settings, which poorly reflect…
The main purpose of this paper is using a very simple constructive method to study an old number theory problem related to the Legendre symbol modulo p, and completely solved it. The proving method of the result is purely elementary and has…
This paper presents a systematic method to solve difficult 9 x 9 Sudoku puzzles by hand. While computer algorithms exist to solve these puzzles, these algorithms are not good for human's to use because they involve too many steps and…
The Pandora's box problem (Weitzman 1979) is a core model in economic theory that captures an agent's (Pandora's) search for the best alternative (box). We study an important generalization of the problem where the agent can either fully…
This paper gives an overview on and summarizes existing complexity and algorithmic results of some variants of the Stable Marriage and the Stable Roommates problems. The last section defines a list of stable matching problems mentioned in…
We revisit a version of the classic occupancy scheme, where balls are thrown until almost all boxes receive a given number of balls. Special cases are widely known as coupon-collectors and dixie cup problems. We show that as the number of…
This paper is an overview and survey of work on the 3x+1 problem, also called the Collatz problem, and generalizations of it. It gives a history of the problem. It addresses two questions: (1) What can mathematics currently say about this…
There are many papers written on the Two Envelopes Problem that usually study some of its variations. In this paper we will study and compare the most significant variations of the problem. We will see the correct decisions for each player…
Science is a crowning glory of the human spirit and its applications remain our best hope for social progress. But there are limitations to current science and perhaps to any science. The general mind-body problem is known to be intractable…
We consider online variations of the Pandora's box problem (Weitzman. 1979), a standard model for understanding issues related to the cost of acquiring information for decision-making. Our problem generalizes both the classic Pandora's box…
The Cosmological Constant $\Lambda$, in different incarnations, has been with us for 100 years. Many surveys of dark energy are underway, indicating so far that the data are consistent with a dark energy equation of state of $w=-1$, i.e. a…
The possibility of stable or quasi--stable Planck mass black hole remnants as solution to the black hole information paradox is commonly believed phenomenologically unacceptable: since we have to expect a black hole remnant for every…
Quantum particles interacting with potential barriers are ubiquitous in physics, and the question of how much time they spend inside classically forbidden regions has attracted interest for many decades. Recent developments of new…
This paper has two objectives. One is to give a linear time algorithm that solves the stable roommates problem (i.e., obtains one stable matching) using the stable marriage problem. The idea is that a stable matching of a roommate instance…