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Sunday, September 9, 2007

Discrete Mathematics video

I watched video 11-15-00: Combinations and permutations. A lecture by Shai Simonson. A lecture in the Discrete Mathematics series on the ADUni.org website.

Topics:
Counting principles.
- Multiplication
- Addition
- Complement
- Counting double
- 'When are things the same'?
Permutation
Combination
n Choose k.
Binomial Theorem
Pascal Triangle
Proofs
- by formula
- by induction
- by combinatorial argument

Doing proofs by combinatorial argument is a powerful technique. The basic identity from the Pascal triangle
1
1 1
1 2 1
1 3 3 1
1 4 6 4 1
1 5 10 10 5 1
1 6 15 20 15 6 1
1 7 21 35 35 21 7 1
...
[n,k]=[n-1,k-1]+[n-1,k]
for example
[6,3]=[5,2]+[5,3]=20=10+10
can easily proven by a combinatorial argument.

Such an argument could be the following.
Let n be the number of employees of a small company with one director. We have to select a k-member team from all employees. The number of teams is [n,k]
Exclude the director from selection and select a k-member team. The number of teams is [n-1,k].
Now select a (k-1)-team, the number of teams is [n-1,k-1] and add the director to it which makes it a k-member team including the director.
Adding the number of k-member teams without a director and k-member teams with a director is the total number of k-member teams or [n-1,k] + [n-1, k-1].

This proves [n,k]=[n-1,k-1]+[n-1,k].

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(Raumpatrouille – Die phantastischen Abenteuer des Raumschiffes Orion, colloquially aka Raumpatrouille Orion was the first German science fiction television series. Its seven episodes were broadcast by ARD beginning September 17, 1966. The series has since acquired cult status in Germany. Broadcast six years before Star Trek first aired in West Germany (in 1972), it became a huge success.)