MathDB

Bob the bomb-defuser has stumbled upon an active bomb. He opens it up, and finds the red and green wires conveniently located for him to cut. Being a seasoned member of the bomb-squad, Bob quickly determines that it is the green wire that he should cut, and puts his wirecutters on the green wire. But just before he starts to cut, the bomb starts to count down, ticking every second. Each time the bomb ticks, starting at time

t=15

seconds, Bob panics and has a certain chance to move his wirecutters to the other wire. However, he is a rational man even when panicking, and has a

\frac{1}{2t^2}

chance of switching wires at time t, regardless of which wire he is about to cut. When the bomb ticks at

t=1

, Bob cuts whatever wire his wirecutters are on, without switching wires. What is the probability that Bob cuts the green wire?

Problem Statement