Congratulations to Laura Bergman, a post-high school student from London, England, on winning the Mathematics Ulpaniada in Jerusalem.
An INN article about the competition focuses on a brain teaser made famous on the televsion show, "Let's Make a Deal."
The problem features three large doors, behind which are two goats and a new car, respectively. The contestant is asked to pick a door, and his prize will be whatever lies behind it. After the choice is made, the host, who knows what is behind each door, opens one of the other two doors, showing a goat. He then asks the contestant, "Do you want to change your choice of door?" The problem is: Is it to the contestant's advantage to switch his or her choice?
Rabbi Prof. Daniel Herskovitz, the Minister of Science and a mathematician at the Technion, was given five minutes to attempt to answer. He said that from a religious believer's point of view, there are two choices: Either trust in G-d that He led you the right way originally, or trust that He is now sending you a better opportunity.
Prof. Mertzbach, a professor of mathematics, then went on to explain that "mathematicians have proven that the chances of winning increase significantly if the choice is changed."
Read the professor's explanation and full article in more INN news.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/news.aspx/137372
Mazel tov laura!!
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