7. Three prisoners are informed by their jailer that two of them have been chosen at random to be released. Prisoner A asks the jailer to tell him privately which of his fellow prisoners will be set free, claiming that there would be no harm in divulging this information because he already knows that at least one of the two will go free. The jailer refuses to answer this question, pointing out that if A knew which of his fellow prisoners were to be set free, then his own probability of being released would decrease from 2/3 to 1/2 because he would then be one of the two prisoners who might be released. What do you think of the jailer's interpretation of probabilities?

7. Three prisoners are informed by their jailer that two of them have been chosen at random to be released. Prisoner A asks the jailer to tell him privately which of his fellow prisoners will be set free, claiming that there would be no harm in divulging this information because he already knows that at least one of the two will go free. The jailer refuses to answer this question, pointing out that if A knew which of his fellow prisoners were to be set free, then his own probability of being released would decrease from 2/3 to 1/2 because he would then be one of the two prisoners who might be released. What do you think of the jailer's interpretation of probabilities?

College Algebra

10th Edition

ISBN:9781337282291

Author:Ron Larson

Publisher:Ron Larson

Chapter8: Sequences, Series,and Probability

Section8.6: Counting Principles

Problem 74E: Lottery Powerball is a lottery game that is operated by the Multi-State Lottery Association and is...

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