This post is a response to
a comment on my March 3rd post titled, Logic and Probability Puzzle.
JeffJo, thanks for the comment. Throughout this response I will refer to the person giving the puzzle as “the puzzler” and I will use the notation P(X) to mean the probability of event X.
These are the assumptions needed to get to your answer of ½.
- Assumption 1: Each possible gender of a child is equally likely.
- Assumption 2: There are two possible versions of this puzzle:
- Boy version: “I have two children. One of them is a boy. What is the probability that I have two boys?”
- Girl version” “I have two children. One of them is a girl. What is the probability that I have two girls?”
- Assumption 3: Each possible version of the puzzle is equally likely if the puzzler is able to use either one because the puzzler has both a boy and a girl.
Using these assumptions, the following shows the percents of the universe of parents with two children by child combination and puzzle version:
|
Boy Version |
Girl Version |
Boy, Boy |
0.25 |
0 |
Boy, Girl |
0.125 |
0.125 |
Girl, Boy |
0.125 |
0.125 |
Girl, Girl |
0 |
0.25 |
The probability of A given B is defined as: P(A|B) = P(A B)/P(B). In other words, the probability of the intersection of A and B divided by the probability of B. In other other words, the probability of both A and B occurring divided by the probability of B occurring.
P(the puzzler has two boys) given that the puzzler asked the boy version of the puzzles is P(the puzzler has two boys and asked the boy version of the puzzle) divided by the P(the puzzler asked the boy version of the puzzle). So, given the assumption listed above, we have:
(0.25)/(0.25+0.125+0.125) = (0.25)/(0.50) = 0.50 = 50% = ½.
I can see your point that it is necessary to know why we are given the information in a puzzle like this; however, I cannot accept a couple of these assumptions.
1) Assumption 3 is not reasonable. How can we know that each possible version of the puzzle is equally likely when the puzzler is able to use either one? A plausible argument can be made that the puzzler would be more likely to ask the boy version because the boy version has been told more often in the past which could influence the puzzler. This blog doesn't get a lot of views but the fact that the Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe used this puzzle could plausibly increase the likelihood of the boy version being asked by a puzzler with both a boy and a girl.
Assumption 1, each possible gender of a child is equally likely, is a reasonable assumption. This is common knowledge and while it might not be exactly 50/50, it is close enough to assume so in the context of a logic puzzle. Dissimilarly, the probability of a puzzler choosing the boy version over the girl version of the puzzle is not common knowledge and can only be determined by conducting a study. Such a study is likely outside the intended scope of a logic puzzle.
Lets scratch Assumption 3 and rework the puzzle using P(bv) to mean the probability of the boy version being chosen when the puzzler is able to use either version. We then have:
|
Boy Version |
Girl Version |
Boy, Boy |
0.25 |
0 |
Boy, Girl |
0.25 * P(bv) |
0.25 * (1 - P(bv)) |
Girl, Boy |
0.25 * P(bv) |
0.25 * (1 - P(bv)) |
Girl, Girl |
0 |
0.25 |
(0.25)/(0.25+(0.25*P(bv)) + (0.25*P(bv))) = (0.25)/(0.25 + 0.50*P(bv)) = 1/(1+2*P(bv)). That is as simple as we can make the answer.
2) Assumption 2 is not reasonable either. How can we assume that there are only two versions of the puzzle? What about, “I have two children. One of them is a boy. What is the probability that I have two girls?” or “I have two children. They are both boys. What is the probability that I have two boys?” While it might seem silly to ask a version of the puzzle with an obvious answer, there must be some chance that the puzzler would ask these versions too. This fact impacts the puzzler with two boys also. So let’s try again using P(parent of two boys will ask the boy version) = P(X) and P(parent of both a boy and a girl will ask the boy version) = P(Y). Then we have:
|
Boy Version |
Girl Version |
Boy, Boy |
P(X) |
0 |
Boy, Girl |
0.25 * P(Y) |
0.25 * (1 - P(Y)) |
Girl, Boy |
0.25 * P(Y) |
0.25 * (1 - P(Y)) |
Girl, Girl |
0 |
P(X) |
(0.25*P(X))/((0.25*P(X))+(0.25*P(Y)) +(0.25*P(Y))) = (0.25*P(X))/((0.25*P(X))+(0.50*P(Y))). That is the most simplified answer.
My Conclusions:
1) You argument is valid.
2) Your answer is incorrect because it uses unreasonable assumptions.
3) The result is a complicated answer that is not in-line with the intentions of the puzzle.
4) The puzzle should be restated to “Randomly select a person from the set of people who have two children at least one of which is a boy. What is the probability that that person has two boys?” The full version being, “Randomly select a person from the set of people who have two children at least one of which is a boy born on a Tuesday. What is the probability that the selected person has two boys?”