Martin Gardner's Mistake

Abstract

When Martin Gardner first presented the Two-Children problem, he made a mistake in its solution. Later he corrected the mistake in another publication, but unfortunately his incorrect solution is more widely known than his correction. In fact, a Tuesday-Child variation of this problem went viral in 2010, and the same flaw keeps reappearing in solutions for that problem as well. In this article, I would like to popularize Martin Gardner's correction and conduct a detailed discussion of the new problem.

0

Turn this paper into a lesson

ArcXiv compiles a structured reading guide from this paper's metadata: plain-English importance, contributions, prerequisite concepts, which sections to read first, flashcards, and a quiz. Grounded in the abstract, never invented.

Discussion (0)

Sign in to join the discussion.

Loading comments…