Solve the impossible '100 Prisoners Riddle' that has the internet puzzled
%2Favatars%2F8ZmZbSugrNWR.jpg&w=96&q=75)
/img/iev/4N61KXAgOJ/car.jpg "How many parts can you remove from a car before it stops working? Here's the answer")
/img/iev/zDOZeND4wk/dry.jpg "Video answers what happens when a reservoir runs entirely dry")
/2023/09/23/image/jpeg/Kap6NAa8IoTyQmZQEwB4waL2MWykBpyJc9piLpRK.jpg "The genius engineering behind 3D-printed rockets")
/2023/09/22/image/png/XFtYdTc2b3TtGseTakit2zAk7zByRIYyUKGewjOl.png "Small robot that can reforest the whole planet")
/2023/09/21/image/jpeg/CBVh8844CyZW0BUmphFlksoDPFxyFFKSmNCRoJFa.jpg "Motagua River: The most trashed river on earth")
/2023/09/20/image/jpeg/fpEIKq8CApvDrs3NDGbRHy8i9cNeVPW2x22WkG7e.jpg "Why China and Russia can not match USS Gerald R. Ford")
/2023/09/19/image/png/PKifNVHrveQgnpB0zgnbhvhDDYJ7GImzRm5HO8DV.png "How this vessel lays underwater cables")
/2023/09/18/image/jpeg/5EPY7kBqlcgs6O9kzgBTWKiu20VY3hN5alc1SXDA.jpg "How does the Chinese J-20 pose a threat to U.S. Air Superiority")
/2023/09/17/image/jpeg/jazsdM1teNAro0jxTtizGax95QgaEmQkSO3DendJ.jpg "X-ray free-Electron lasers - most engineered light source?")
/2023/09/16/image/jpeg/MPAi9QkFPLHHvptOBin7mw2HEewNJYPVQUHSXCak.jpg "Why only icebreakers can break ice & other ships can’t")
Have you ever heard of the 100 Prisoners Riddle? First proposed by the Danish computer scientist Peter Bro Miltersen in 2003, it's a mathematical problem in probability theory and combinatorics that seems completely impossible to solve. Here is how the riddle goes:
"Say there are 100 prisoners numbered 1 to 100. Slips of paper containing each of their numbers are randomly placed in 100 boxes in a sealed room. One at a time, each prisoner is allowed to enter the room and open any 50 of the 100 boxes, searching for their number. And afterwards, they must leave the room exactly as they found it, and they can't communicate in any way with the other prisoners. If all 100 prisoners find their own number during their turn in the room, they will all be freed. But if even one of them fails to find their number, they will all be executed. The prisoners are allowed to strategize before any of them goes into the room. So what is their best strategy?"
In this video, popular science channel Veritasium's Derek Muller explains the riddle by putting the probability into perspective and dives deeper to make sure the viewers can understand it fully. If you're curious to see the answer, make sure you watch the video embedded above, and as always, enjoy.
SHOW COMMENT (1)
/2023/08/12/image/jpeg/1xpgw9M0j07fJWL4SukxFDjALW7dwwo6wjsgbU0t.jpg "Magnetic fields reveal lost undersea worlds")
/2023/08/03/image/jpeg/a4peRyX4ysBOqbw4BbDHzMCIbTjXOWejwu83UrQp.jpg "You can hear silence, claim researchers, settling an old debate")
/2023/08/12/image/jpeg/YpIBySMmJsZiGQlarXybqbSBEqLy3heGb8irafUg.jpg "Predictions for what the world will be like in 2100?")
/2023/09/23/image/jpeg/Ht9SoPpiJDjL8laVISlPyrfNrL4LH0pME1Kay3it.jpg "NYPD now has a robot police officer for its Manhattan subway")
/2023/09/12/image/jpeg/E1LfUWjqRrg0bFqBnRzB7XzmfJAd6YPNclMl5I9n.jpg "How AI can revolutionize health on long-duration spaceflights")
/2023/07/09/image/jpeg/zJQEuHMS5v67BKugegCEa7K59vq1AI7lMk8IRyXa.jpg "AI and robots might be the future of battery development")
/2023/09/24/image/jpeg/Qd9TFF9rqwLu44A9j9PM3Gb8NzPOlYBqvBVB8eQh.jpg "These adorable Japanese robots are being used for elder care")
/2023/09/23/image/jpeg/EkaUs1PFMs22T2bo39a8T3BslgZ8qxot4rm0p91i.jpg "Upcoming Northern Lights to be the strongest in 20 years")
/2023/08/25/image/png/5hf1N5LFzyDY4pUpvoJ0BtpujwCPfsL68t1cAIVj.png "Why is anti-piracy software Denuvo stirring controversy?")
/2023/09/23/image/jpeg/9fsKSWRxyPmZZ6TbJoC0urwAKJUdeMfRlPRYW3CR.jpg "Earth’s crust and mantle grew in sync, study finds")