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arXiv · 2001.06839

The Absent-Minded Passengers Problem via Computer Algebra

Shalosh B. Ekhad·Doron Zeilberger
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Abstract

In a delightful article that recently appeared in the American Mathematics Monthly, Norbert Henze and Guenter Last discuss the "Absent-Minded Passengers" Problem, but left open finding an explicit expression for the probability generating function, of the random variable "Number of passengers occupying a wrong seat", when the number of absent-minded passengers is larger than one. This is accomplished in this note, using experimental mathematics and symbolic computation. We also derive explicit expressions for the first 8 moments of the original case of one absent-minded passenger, and indicate how to extend it to the general case

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Shalosh B. Ekhad, Doron Zeilberger. 2020-01-19. The Absent-Minded Passengers Problem via Computer Algebra. https://arxiv.org/abs/2001.06839

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