Google Interview Question - Probability

[NickFitz]

There is no answer, they want to see your thought process getting to an answer that cannot be found.

You are meant to be asking questions like "can you tell me what is the proportion of girls to boys born in this country?", "can you tell me what the proportion was before this rule is applied?" "How many families have reached the objective and how many have not?" "how many families are there?" instead of plugging in estimates to an equation like some of you have.

Myself, a degree trained engineer would grasp that but as most of you are not mathematically inclined then I see you are struggling with basic stats to answer a chaotic situation.

You have all failed.

You show promise, but some of your points are irrelevant, some betray an inability to understand obvious givens, and some are just stupid.

They're looking for "Smart and gets things done" - not "Smart and is totally up his own arse about it."

Try again in a couple of years when you've got some experience of solving problems rather than talking about them

[EternalOptimist]

Ok mr Minestrone, Ms Ballbreaker from HR has a second question for you.

Ms BB - 'Mr Minestrone, if you were to have a chocolate bar shoved up your @ss, what type of chocolate bar would it be?'

[bobhope]

It's all cobblers anyway, as there are about 106 boys born for every 100 girls and not 50/50.


So there.

[NotAllThere]

I dont think that this is independent - Surely if a family has one girl then the probability of a boy next increases??

Similarly if I told you that I tossed 100 coins and each toss was fair and resulted in a tail would you not feel more bullish expecting a heads next??

Only if I was an innumerate numpty.

Nope - the outcomes are independent. What happens in one conception will have no effect on what happens in a subsequent conception...

True, but. Given that the chances of getting 100 heads is so low, if you were to get that, it's more likely that the coin isn't fair, or is being tossed in a way that changes the probabilities. Similarly, if someone has a run of daughters, then there is a possibility that they're producing more female sperm than male. Or that the male sperm are in some way defective. Or that the mother's "bits" are more hostile to male sperm etc. etc.

[BrilloPad]

Ok mr Minestrone, Ms Ballbreaker from HR has a second question for you.

Ms BB - 'Mr Minestrone, if you were to have a chocolate bar shoved up your @ss, what type of chocolate bar would it be?'

I phone Marianne Faithful and she said a mars bar.

[OwlHoot]

Ok mr Minestrone, Ms Ballbreaker from HR has a second question for you.

Ms BB - 'Mr Minestrone, if you were to have a chocolate bar shoved up your @ss, what type of chocolate bar would it be?'

I guess the answer isn't Toblerone - That would have to hurt!

[threaded]

I guess the answer isn't Toblerone - That would have to hurt!

But ribbed for pleasure.

[NotAllThere]

You can get 4.5kg toblerone. Bet that would make anyone's eyes water.

[Scary]

Only if I was an innumerate numpty.

I'd assume that the coin was double-headed, or some other trick. For a fair coin given a fair toss and discounting edge landings or other trickery of course you're right.

[NotAllThere]

If you'd read just a little further, you'd find I'd said the same thing.