Sunday, October 4, 2015

Probability Puzzle: Mutating Loaded Die



Take an (initially) fair six-sided die (i.e. P(x)=16 for x=1,,6) and roll it repeatedly.



After each roll, the die becomes loaded for the next roll depending on the number y that was just rolled according to the following system:




P(y)=1y
P(x)=1P(y)5, for xy



i.e. the probability that you roll that number again in the next roll is 1y and the remaining numbers are of equal probability.



What is the probability that you roll a 6 on your nth roll?






NB: This is not a homework or contest question, just an idea I had on a boring bus ride. Bonus points for calculating the probability of rolling the number x on the nth roll.


Answer



The transition matrix is given by P=[10000011012110110110110215215132152152153203203201432032042542542542515425161616161616]. It is fairly easy to get numerical values for the probability distribution of being in state 6 after n steps, but a closed form solution appears difficult.


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