80 replies to this topic

[laracroft]

You live in Killville - a town populated by 10 killers and 10 pacifists.

When a pacifist meets a pacifist, nothing happens.
When a pacifist meets a killer, the pacifist is killed.
When two killers meet, both die.

Assume meetings always occur between exactly two persons
and the pairs involved are completely random.

Are your odds of survival better if you are a killer? or a pacifist?
Or does it matter?

Spoiler for hint

Regardless of whether you are a pacifist or a killer,
you may disregard all events in which a pacifist other than yourself is involved
and consider only events in which you are killed
or a pair of killers other than yourself is killed.

[danm]

Spoiler for Til the end of time

Let's assume this problem runs for an infinite amount of time. Since there are an even number of killers they will all die eventually. This holds true because Killers can only die at the hand of another killer. Leaving the pacifists out of the mix you can easily see how the killers will start crossing paths and offing one another. If there were eleven killers then there would be 5 gun fights (sooner or later) ending in the death of 10 of those killers while the remaining killer off'd the Pacifists.

Although it may be a very small probability, the pacifists are the only one's capable of ultimate survival.

[marchawg]

Spoiler for I made a quick script of this..

Killville Script -- It records the total number so you can see percentages (must have javascript enabled)

Edited by marchawg, 18 November 2008 - 05:31 AM.

[MicheleM1972]

Spoiler for I made a quick script of this..

Killville Script -- It records the total number so you can see percentages (must have javascript enabled)

I would jsut move and save myself the trouble of thinking it through all the way.

[bonanova]

Spoiler for I made a quick script of this..

Killville Script -- It records the total number so you can see percentages (must have javascript enabled)

Hi marchawg and welcome to the Den.

Nice job.
Can you do this for an odd number of killers?

[tonopah]

killers will eliminate themselves after 5 meetings and the only chance for survival of anyone is for one or more pacifists to have not been met by killers before they have elimintated themselves... if the first five meetings are between killers then all pacifists live but once all pacifists die, the killers will still continue until they have elimated each other. If there were an odd number of killers the the final solution would be a single killer to survive... If I wanted to be the survivor I would want to increase my odds by being a pacifist and try to limit my number of meetings in general

[vchopra]

You live in Killville - a town populated by 10 killers and 10 pacifists.

When a pacifist meets a pacifist, nothing happens.
When a pacifist meets a killer, the pacifist is killed.
When two killers meet, both die.

Assume meetings always occur between exactly two persons
and the pairs involved are completely random.

Are your odds of survival better if you are a killer? or a pacifist?
Or does it matter?

Spoiler for hint

Regardless of whether you are a pacifist or a killer,
you may disregard all events in which a pacifist other than yourself is involved
and consider only events in which you are killed
or a pair of killers other than yourself is killed.

Pacifist has better odds at survival.

[Raoul]

You live in Killville - a town populated by 10 killers and 10 pacifists.

When a pacifist meets a pacifist, nothing happens.
When a pacifist meets a killer, the pacifist is killed.
When two killers meet, both die.

Assume meetings always occur between exactly two persons
and the pairs involved are completely random.

Are your odds of survival better if you are a killer? or a pacifist?
Or does it matter?

Spoiler for hint

Regardless of whether you are a pacifist or a killer,
you may disregard all events in which a pacifist other than yourself is involved
and consider only events in which you are killed
or a pair of killers other than yourself is killed.

Spoiler for maybe the answer

if you are the pacifict, the chance of meeting another pacifist is 9/19
if you are a killer, then the chance of meeting a pacifist is 10/19
With the first meeting, if you are a killer, the following happens:
If you meet a pacifist, then the probability of meeting another pacifist is 9/18.
if you meet a killer, you die.

If you are a killer then each time you meet a pacifist, you decrease the chances of survival. This is because you make the chance to meeting a killer higher than the chance of meeting a pacifist, and sometime soon you will meet a killer.

It is better to be a pacifist. I would be one anyway too!

Edited by Raoul, 08 January 2009 - 07:08 PM.

[naturalbornlegend]

If you are a killer then you can meet 9 other killers that will kill you and ten pacifists

If you are a pacifist then you can meet 10 killers that will kill you and 9 pacifists

So it is better to be a killer in that town, you have more chances to survive

[bonanova]

If you are a killer then you can meet 9 other killers that will kill you and ten pacifists

If you are a pacifist then you can meet 10 killers that will kill you and 9 pacifists

So it is better to be a killer in that town, you have more chances to survive

That's after one encounter. How about after unlimited encounters?