Each prisoner starts with the box with his own number on the outside, reads the number inside that box, and proceeds to the box whose number he just read. He thus cycles around until he either reads his own number or has opened his allotment of 50 boxes.
The Prisoner Problem
The Calculation of the probability that all survive
Jean-Claude Chetrit heard this problem and solution at a conference and shared it with the Brooklyn Go Club email list little by little in a way that promoted enjoyable back and forth.
Last Revised June 12, 2007
