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Permutations and Coin-Tossing Sequences

by David Callan

This article originally appeared in:
Mathematics Magazine
February, 2001

Subject classification(s): Discrete Mathematics | Combinatorics
Applicable Course(s): 2.7 Finite Math

The author provides a combinatorial explanation of a "striking" result from Herbert Wilf`s book “generatingfunctionology,” equating the likelihood of certain permutations with the likelihood of \(n/2\) heads in \(n\) tosses of a coin.


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