MathDB
Transforming binary sequences

Source: Kvant Magazine No. 4 2023 M2745

January 9, 2024
combinatoricsbinary sequences

Problem Statement

Two 100-digit binary sequences are given. In one operation, one may insert (possibly at the beggining or end) or remove one or more identical digits from a sequence. What is the smallest kk{} for which we can transform the first sequence into the second one in no more than kk{} operations?
Proposed by V. Novikov